Kismet
by taitofan
Summary: A sorcerer who wants a second chance at life... A man who wants the romance his marriage lacks... Can they both find what they're looking for in each other?
1. Prologue

Kismet—Prologue

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for eventual yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Honestly? I have _no idea_ why I'm doing this. I guess it's because my OTP has no love, and my insane desire to see it has made me write it myself. This will be chaptered, and this is more or less the prologue. Expect future chapters to be longer, if only by a bit. Now… Please note that this is based mostly on the _manga_ versions of the games. Why? Cause I'm not that good at MM and thus didn't get very far (I've seen all of Kafei's scenes however), and though I won MC, I like Vaati's fate in the manga more than in the game. Thus, in this fic, the Four Swords games never happen and all cries of, "Vaati is too OOC!" will be ignored. Help with Kafei, however, will be considered. You can contact me if you'd like to read the manga. Other than that… Most questions will be answered in future chapters, but if you're horribly curious about anything, feel free to ask!

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 12-29-06

* * *

"…and remember that you must _concentrate_! You cannot let your mind wander or it shall _not_ work!" 

He wanted to scream, to cry, _something_ to get it across that he _knew_. He knew better than _anyone_ that it was his lack of dedication that had caused him to fail for the past year. It was hard to think that he'd really been working on this for so long, but it was true nonetheless. And this time he was determined to succeed. He would do it today; he _had_ too.

"Yes Master. I understand." He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to clear his mind of everything but his goal. Nothing else mattered now, not even all of the hard work he'd shown. All that was important right now was focusing on his goal. If he didn't do that… No! He'd do it, he _would_!

There were a few minutes of silence—even the usual outside noises seemed to have stilled. Then, suddenly, there was a bright flash of white light that filled up the entire room. The energy hummed in his ears, but still he concentrated on what he wanted—no, what he _needed_. He needed this if he was to keep what sanity he hadn't lost yet.

'_I need another chance. I need to make up for what I've done. Please, let me have just one more chance…_'

And as suddenly as the light had manifested, it was gone. He didn't dare to open his eyes though. What if it didn't work? Surely, it must have! He'd worked so hard, harder than he ever had! He—

"Vaati, you've done it! Open your eyes and look!" The young Picori apprentice's eyes flew open, and sure enough, there it was. A wish granting hat, just as his master had made a year ago. But this time, Vaati had made it, courtesy of his very own sweat and tears. He rushed forward and grabbed it, as if he needed to verify that he wasn't dreaming. But no, it was real. He'd finally done it.

"Master… Thank you for teaching me all of these years. I never could have gotten this far without your teachings…" Ezlo smiled and laid his hands on his pupil's shoulders, the pride fully apparent in his eyes.

"You are welcome. However, in the end it was _you_ who made this possible. You finally understand that you cannot take shortcuts to achieve true strength. Your dedication paved the way to your success. I only regret now that I'm losing my greatest student."

"Master…" The sage shook his head, not allowing him to continue.

"Vaati, this is your victory, and you have no time for indecision. You have chosen your future and now is the time to achieve it. We shall meet again, I'm sure of it." He stepped back and offered the young Picori his warmest smile. "Go on; see where your wish shall take you."

Vaati looked at the hat in his hands and then at his smiling teacher. No, his smiling _ex_-teacher. It saddened him to know that he was leaving after having just learned his most important lesson, but… Ezlo was right. He had to go…

"Thank you Master; I will. Goodbye for now." And with that, he put on the hat and closed his eyes…

"Goodbye Vaati." …And then he was gone.

* * *

Five months. He'd been married for five months. Five months since that mysterious boy Link had saved all of Termina, and at the same time helped him retrieve his marriage mask. Without Link's help, he may never have gotten married at all… 

Kafei didn't know whether to thank the kid or curse him.

It wasn't as if he hated being married to Anju. He just… didn't know if it was what he really wanted. He'd made the promise to marry her when they were just children, long before he knew what love was. He knew that Anju had fallen in love with him, but in all honesty, he _still_ wasn't sure what love really was. The way he felt for Anju was the way he felt for Cremia, and he _knew_ he wasn't attracted to _her_. There was a mental connection between him and Anju, he wouldn't deny that, but there was no _physical_ attraction. He had no desire for romance. For the past five months, their relationship had remained completely platonic…

But now Anju was talking about having _children_. Suddenly, he was being forced to face things that he'd never wanted to face. He realized that it was crazy to have thought that Anju would accept their chaste relationship forever, but that didn't make things any easier. Somehow, he had a feeling that returning to the Inn and being forced to explain why he'd run out in the first place would only be the beginning of his troubles.

'_Honestly_,' he thought as he walked aimlessly through Termina Field, '_how could things get any worse today?_'

No sooner had he'd said that, when fate decided to answer his question. A bright light suddenly lit up the sky and blinded Kafei, who cursed for jinxing himself. What was happening _now_? His answer came a short time later when the light faded away just as abruptly as it had come, and there was a body laying less than three feet away from where he stood. Needless to say, the body had _not_ been there a minute ago.

"Hello?" Kafei questioned as he cautiously approached the figure. "Are you all right…?" Upon closer inspection, he could see that the person was a male of about his own age, with pale skin, light purple hair, and a strange mark under his eye. His rich garments—made up of purples, reds, and gold—suggested that of a magician of some sort. Whoever he was, he obviously wasn't from around here. But after Link had suddenly come upon their land, he wasn't entirely surprised.

'_I wonder… What color are his eyes…?_' As soon as it was thought, Kafei blinked and scowled. '_Why the hell do **I** care? I don't have time for this… I need to figure out what to do about Anju!_'

He turned on his heel, ready to head back to Clock Town, when a pained groan reached his ears. Whipping around, he saw that the man was shaking. He rushed back to his side, kneeling down and placing a hand on his forehead. Sure enough, his skin was hot to the touch. He was obviously in no condition to be left alone in the middle of nowhere… Kafei's conscious overrode his previous annoyance, and he picked up the unconscious man, noting how light he was.

'_When was the last time he ate? I'll have to feed him when he wakes up… Then he can tell me what the hell is going on._'

No matter what came of this, Kafei was at least pleased that he'd found a suitable distraction.


	2. Chapter 1

Kismet—Chapter One

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for eventual yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Anju appears, we learn a few things about Vaati, and Kafei is generally oblivious… This chapter might seem a bit slow, but it's necessary for the plot and besides, just jumping into the romance would be highly unrealistic, you know? Falling in love on first glance might not be believable, but getting a crush _is_, so don't worry—you'll have shounen ai hints right off at the very least. And don't worry, more about Vaati's past will be coming soon…

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 12-30-06

* * *

Kafei rushed the entire way back to town, not stopping until he'd reached the Stock Pot Inn. The man's fever had gone up on the way back, and there was no doubt that he'd received a few stares from the townsfolk. After all, it wasn't everyday that the mayor's son ran through town with a mysterious man in his arms. Kafei would worry about it later though—right now, he had to make sure that the man was okay.

"Darling, where were you—?" He heard Anju's question as he kicked open the door and made his way upstairs, but he didn't stop. "Kafei, what's going on?" When her husband failed to answer her, Anju stood up from her spot behind the counter and followed him. By the time she caught up, he was already placing the man on one of the guest room's beds. "Kafei…?"

"I need you to get me some water and rags," he answered as he removed the man's hat and then busied himself with removing the sandals. He let out a grunt of satisfaction as he finally figured out how to undo them. "Then we'll need a potion too. And hurry; who knows how long he's been like this." Anju watched him tucking the man under the covers for a few minutes, before she rushed out to do as she was told. Kafei sighed once she'd left, again mentally thanking the man for keeping him from having to answer Anju's queries…for the time being at any rate.

"I don't know who you are or where you came from," he began, pulling a chair over to the bedside and sitting down to wait for his wife to return, "but I owe you one. How about I promise not to make you eat Anju's cooking?" He chuckled at his joke and then frowned. This entire situation was intriguing—there was obviously magic involved. But until he woke up, Kafei supposed he'd have to remain patient. "You'd better wake up soon…"

* * *

Vaati didn't know what had gone wrong, but he had a pretty good idea. He'd wished for his powers and human body back so that he could make up for all of the wrongs he'd done, but obviously, he wasn't as specific with the request as he should have been. He could tell that his body was now older than it had been the last time he'd been human, and he could sense that wherever he was, it wasn't Hyrule. There were no magical signatures anywhere—the Picori were nowhere to be found either.

Not that he could actually confirm his theories at the moment though. Whatever had happened to him, it had caused an imbalance in his new body. He was a Wind Sorcerer and could thus sense his surroundings, but his human body refused to open its eyes and _move_. He'd managed to make a few noises, but he couldn't actually _do_ anything. In fact, if it hadn't been for whoever had found him, carried him to only the Goddesses knew where, and attempted to bring the fever down, he'd still being lying on the cold ground in agony.

Vaati might not have known who saved him, but he swore that the beginning of his salvation would start with repaying them. First, he had to wake up though…

"…ome o… Wak…be oka…" That voice—yes, that was his savior. Obviously another man if Vaati was to judge by his deep tone. He needed to get to him… "Please… Wake up. You'll be okay if you just open your eyes." Yes, open his eyes… Vaati used all of his willpower to force himself to do just that.

The sight he was met with made him never want to close his eyes ever again.

"…Hello." He watched the man's dark red eyes widen, and seconds later, he had a cup of water handed to him.

"Drink this," he ordered softly. Vaati did so, the cool water soothing his hoarse throat. He handed the cup back when he was done, feeling a jolt of _something_ run through his body when their hands brushed. He was only glad that the suddenly color that graced his face could be blamed on his illness. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Vaati replied, not able to look away from those captivating eyes, "thanks to you. I sincerely thank you for rescuing me…"

"Kafei. I own this inn with my wife, Anju. And you are…?" Wife… Figured. He tried to ignore the ripple of disappointment that he felt at the word.

"Vaati. I'm a Wind Sorcerer from Hyrule. I don't suppose you've heard of that kingdom, have you?" Kafei shook his head, proud of himself for being right about his mystery man being a magician of some sort.

"No, I'm afraid not. We're in Termina right now. Ever heard of it?" Vaati shook his head no, and Kafei's face took on a curious look. "Care to tell me why you suddenly appeared in a heap on the ground after the sky lit up for a good minute?" …Honestly? No, he didn't. But something about Kafei intrigued him, and if it meant he could stay longer…

"You probably won't believe a word of this…" Kafei's laughter filled his ears, and he cursed that ugly word "wife" again.

"You'd be surprised. Just try me." Vaati nodded and made himself comfortable.

"All right… Well, it all started a little over a year ago, when I was a Picori apprentice and wanted my master to acknowledge me…"

* * *

Kafei listened intently to Vaati's story of tiny creatures, corrupt wishes, familiar sounding heroes, and a desire for a second chance. A year ago, he would have called Vaati a liar, but then again, a year ago he hadn't been turned back into a child and the moon hadn't almost crushed them all. No, he believed it, and now more than ever he knew that Vaati was from another world. He'd heard the rumors of parallel dimensions before, and now he actually believed them.

"…and that's when you found me. I could sense your presence, but I couldn't do anything. Thank you again."

"It's no problem," Kafei assured him, deciding that he wouldn't mention how Vaati's strange illness had actually _helped_ him. "But… Why do you think you ended up here instead of where you're from? There must have been a reason." Vaati sighed, wondering the same thing himself. Personally, the thought that the higher powers liked to mess with him.

"I'm not sure… I suppose I'll find out eventually though." Kafei raised an eyebrow, shooting the sorcerer a confused look.

"You mean… You're not going to try to find a way back? You have you're magic back now, right?" Vaati shrugged, a troubled look on his face.

"Yes, but I'm not sure exactly _which_ powers I've regained. I'll have to wait until I'm stronger to find out. As for going back… Maybe it's better for me to be away from Hyrule. Link and Zelda have already fixed the damage I'd done, so perhaps I'll be of more help here than I could have been there…" Kafei looked thoughtful for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"Yes, you might… But if you're to get stronger, you'll have to eat. I'll go make you something, and you rest, all right?" Vaati was in no position to argue—not that he'd wanted to anyway—so he merely nodded and settled down for a little relaxation.

Kafei waited until he closed his eyes before getting up and leaving the room.

* * *

"He's… a sorcerer?" Kafei nodded as he stirred the soup he was making. Anju had offered to do it of course, but he wanted to _feed_ Vaati, not _kill_ him. The guy had been through enough…

"Yes, a Wind Sorcerer. He wished to have a second chance to make up for his bad deeds, and he was sent here. I'm… I'm going to offer to let him stay here for a while. I'll give him a job once he can get up and move around." He couldn't see his wife, but judging by her gasp, he could only imagine the look on her face… Oh well, at least they weren't talking about children.

"But Kafei, we don't have the money—"

"I _know_," he stressed, cutting her off, "but we can pay him by letting him stay in the inn and feeding him at least. Besides, we can easily afford to give him a few rupees a week." Anju sighed behind him, obviously not liking the idea.

"But how can we just let him stay here? How do you know he wasn't lying to you? Maybe he's still evil and—" Kafei slammed the wooden spoon on the counter and fixed an annoyed stare at her. She let out a surprised squeak and backed up a few steps. She hadn't been the source of his anger in _years_…

"Anju, listen to yourself. I know you mean well, but just _think_ about it. He was telling me about a boy named Link just like the boy who helped us. It's obvious that he isn't from our world. And maybe I can't prove it, but I _know_ he's telling the truth. I… I can just tell by looking in his eyes that he's sincere. And right now, he's sick, in another dimension, and doesn't have anything but the clothes on his back. We can't just turn him away… _I_ can't turn him away. If he wants to, he's staying here. I'd like your support, but I won't change my mind…" Anju frowned, but nodded regardless.

"You're right my dear, I'm being selfish… I'm sorry. We'll let him stay until he can fend for himself. I was just scared, that's all… Forgive me?" Kafei nodded, some of the guilt from yelling at her washing away when she smiled. He might not have been sure he really loved her as a _wife_, but she was still his best friend, and it always upset him to see her hurt. She quickly rushed to him, throwing her arms around his waist and burying her face in his neck. He automatically held her close, knowing it would comfort her. This was all for her… "I love you."

…Only for her.

"I know."

* * *

_Vaati limped to Ezlo's hut, hoping that he wasn't **too** late. It was the third time this week, and his teacher was sure to be upset…_

"_Vaati! Whatever kept you?" The small—even my Picori standards—apprentice was glad that he'd already come up with an excuse on the way there._

"_I'm sorry Master. I was delayed—"_

"_Stop right there," he commanded, holding up his hand to silence the young Picori. "You have been coming here with more and more bruises everyday. Do not think that you are fooling me. What is going on?"_

"_I…" He scrambled for an excuse, not expecting Ezlo to have paid him any attention. He supposed that's what he got for doubting his master. "I'm just clumsy, that's all. I've been bumping into things a lot lately."_

"_Vaati… I warn you not to lie to me. I am not dense—those came from another Picori." He sighed at the scared look on his apprentice's innocent face. Couldn't the boy see that he just wanted to help? "Please, tell me who's been doing this to you so that I can put a stop to it."_

_Vaati bit his lip, wondering what to do. He knew that he should trust his master, but the other boys' words came back to him… Could he really risk it? What if they really went through with it?_

"_The other boys in the village, they said—"_

"—aati? Vaati, wake up."

Kafei's voice jolted him out of his slumber, something for which Vaati had to restrain himself from giving his undying gratitude. That had been hard enough to live through the first time; reliving it through a dream was _not_ his idea of a pleasant experience.

"I'm awake…" An appetizing aroma momentarily made him forget about his flashback-slash-dream. "…Is that for me? It smells delicious." Kafei couldn't help but smile as he handed the bowl over. Judging by the way Vaati instantly began devouring the soup, he had a feeling that the sorcerer even would have eaten Anju's cooking at this point… Though he certainly would have regretted it later. He'd have to warn him about that…

"I made that myself, so I hope you like it. A word to the wise though—if Anju ever offers you something she cooked, politely decline. Trust me; it's for your own good." Vaati might not have understood, but he nodded nonetheless. If Kafei's cooking was always this good, he had no problems staying away from his _wife_. "You… You looked troubled in your sleep. Are you all right?"

"…Yes, I'm fine." Kafei knew it was a lie, but he let it drop… For now at least.

"I'm glad…" He sat back down in the chair he'd occupied earlier, hoping that Vaati would accept what he was about to offer, if only so his spat with Anju wasn't for nothing. "Vaati… I know you have no possessions, no rupees, and no place to go, so if you'd like… You can stay here. After you're better you can help us with the inn and in return, you can have this room and we'll feed you. We can't pay you much I'm afraid, but you'll have a place to eat and sleep at least…"

…Vaati's day was already looking up.

"I-I'd love to. Are you sure though…?" Kafei smiled, knowing that Anju would never have doubted Vaati if she could see the man now. Whatever he had been like when he'd been evil… It was obvious that he'd changed. He was _pretty_ sure that evil overlords weren't this polite.

"Yes, I'm positive. You can start your atonement by helping me. Besides, I could use some company around here…" Vaati thought about asking why he didn't consider his wife as company, but he decided not to push his luck. Married or not, he was still getting to live with an extremely handsome man, and he wasn't about to spoil it.

"Thank you Kafei… I promise I'll pull my weight." Kafei laughed and took the empty bowl, his smile making Vaati's stomach do flips.

"Just focus on getting healthy first… Well, it's nighttime, so I'll let you get some real sleep. Hopefully you'll feel better in the morning so we can see about getting you some things. My room is two doors from this one on the left. There's a bathroom four rooms down on the right. Try to have good dreams, okay?" Vaati returned the smile and nodded, gratitude evident in his eyes.

"I will. Goodnight Kafei." Kafei stood and turned off the light before making his way to the door.

"Goodnight Vaati." He closed the door and left the sorcerer to himself. Vaati closed his eyes and grinned as Kafei entered his mind. His first day of his new life and he'd already found the person he could imagine himself spending eternity with…

'_Too bad he's married…_'

* * *

By the time Kafei ate the remainder of the soup and got ready for bed, Anju was already asleep. He knew it was awful to be happy about that, but… Well, he _was_. And he had the man two doors down to thank for that.

'_Vaati, you're such a mystery… You certainly don't **act** like you took over an entire kingdom._' He sighed as he climbed into bed next to his slumbering wife, wondering how his life would be now that there was a new factor in it. '_Things are definitely going to be interesting from now on…_'

He closed his eyes and began drifting off immediately, the excitement of the day finally taking its toll. And right before he fell asleep, he finally realized something…

'_Red. His eyes are red, just like mine…_'


	3. Chapter 2

Kismet—Chapter Two

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for eventual yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Hmm, I like this chapter more than the first ones, since we're finally getting somewhere. Anju will have a bigger part from now on, and more things are revealed about the guys. And since she is playing a role now, I'd like to get this out of the way: I will not, at any point, be bashing Anju. If she was real and it was legal, _I'd_ marry her. Now, to clear some things up… I can't draw worth a hill of beans, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to add their full "adult" descriptions without it seemingly horribly out of place. So, if you go to DeviantArt or y-hosting and look up the artist Kacfrog711, you can see _perfect_ examples of how I'm imagining them. As time goes by, I'll likely mention little things about their looks myself though. Lastly, the stuff that happened in the prologue? I decided to jump right into the action, but it'll be better explained later on. Vaati's dreams serve a few purposes, as you'll eventually see… Oh, and my chapters are shorter than they could be so I can update more often. Hope that answers everything I've been asked so far... Thanks a bunch to my two reviewers! You rock!

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-01-07

* * *

"—_and… That's it."_

_Ezlo's brows knitted together at his apprentice's story. That wasn't at all what he'd expected to hear, but he believed it. It wasn't something that could just be made up… Still, it was most disturbing news._

"_Is what they said true?" Vaati couldn't bring himself to look his master in the eyes. He could already feel the unshed tears stinging his eyes, and if he found any disappointment in his teacher's gaze, he just knew he'd lose control…_

"_Yes…" Ezlo had to strain to hear the whispered answer, but when he did, he sighed deeply. He'd always had a sneaking suspicion that the young Picori was different, but he'd hoped that he was wrong. Now, however, it seemed that he'd have to deal with this…_

"_I see. Well, Vaati, I think it's time we had a talk…"_

…and Vaati was jolted awake by a loud crash.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to wake you…" When Vaati's eyes finally focused, he saw a young redheaded woman juggling a tray of food, some clothing, and a few random toiletries. Of course, half of the things she'd been carrying were currently on the floor, along with a chair she'd knocked over… He assumed that this was Anju.

"It's alright… Are you Anju?" The woman's blue eyes widened in surprise as she stared at him—for what reason, he didn't know. "Kafei mentioned his wife was named Anju…"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, smiling pleasantly at him. "I wasn't sure if he'd said anything about me or not, but yes, I'm Anju. You're Vaati, right?" He nodded, and her smile only grew. "Well, hello then! If you're going to be living here, we should at least know each other, right? Oh, before I drop this too, Kafei made you an omelet for breakfast earlier and I just heated it up. I'm sure he told you I'm a horrible cook…" She set the things she hadn't dropped on the bureau and handed him the tray, complete with the large, delicious looking omelet, a fork, and a glass of red juice. He gave his thanks and immediately dug in, having not eaten anything in two days but the soup from the night before.

She allowed him to eat as she picked up the things she'd dropped, humming a little tune to herself. Vaati eyed her as discreetly as he could, which wasn't hard since she was in her own little world. She seemed pleasant enough, despite being clumsy and obviously—since she and Kafei had _both_ admitted it—a bad cook. Still… She was Kafei's _wife_. Not that it was her fault that he'd taken a shining to her husband of course.

'_Imagine what the others would say if they knew I was interested in a married man I'd just met… No doubt, they'd question my sanity more than ever…_'

He quickly finished the omelet and drank the sweet juice—he wasn't entirely sure _what_ it was, but he decided he like it—just in time for Anju to get everything back in order. She wasn't so bad… And as part of his repentance, he swore not to be selfish and cause trouble. He wasn't that Vaati anymore; he couldn't let Ezlo's faith in him be wasted.

"Please tell Kafei thank you for the food. It was wonderful." Anju nodded happily and took the tray back, careful not to drop it.

"I will! His shift ends soon, so he'll probably be up to check on you soon to make sure you're okay. You do look _much_ better than when he brought you in yesterday at least!" So she'd seen him the day before… He wondered how much Kafei told her… "Oh yes, I left you a few things of Kafei's that you can borrow. You look about his size, so there are some clothes in case you feel good enough to get up later. There's a brush too—I'm sure you noticed his hair is longer than mine! The other things are new, so you don't have to worry about germs or anything… Oh, I have to go take over soon! I'm sorry that I have to cut this short, but we'll talk later, okay?" He blinked, amazed that she could say so much without taking a breath.

"Y-yes, of course. Thank you." She giggled and shook her head good-naturedly.

"No problem! Take it easy!" And in a flash, she was out the door. Vaati felt a smile form on his face as the sound of her footsteps disappeared. No, she wasn't bad at all…

* * *

"You know… He doesn't seem very evil." Kafei fiddled with a quill, bored out of his mind. There was hardly ever any business here except near holidays and festivals… That was another reason he was glad to have Vaati around. Not only would his shifts be shorter with another employee besides himself and Anju, but the sorcerer could also keep him company while he worked. 

"I _told_ you. You should really know better than to doubt me by now—ow!" He rubbed his head where Anju hit him with the guestbook, her tongue stuck out and a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What was _that_ for?!"

"Always right huh? Like when we were seven and you _swore_ we wouldn't get in trouble for eating your mom's cookies?" He thought back to that day, remembering the lecture they got…

"It's not like _she_ needed all those cookies." She giggled at his sulky tone. It was amazing how he could still sound like the child he'd once been—twice now.

"How about when we were thirteen, and you told me what a _great_ idea it would be to paint the clock tower pink with purple stripes in the middle of the night? We spent a week scraping it off and repainting it! Or how about when you finally turned eighteen and decided that we needed to go drinking? You were drunk after only three drinks! I had to drag you out of there once you started stripping—"

"Okay!" he yelled, cutting her off and making her giggle again. "Perhaps I've made a few misjudgments in my time, but you must admit that I _was_ right this time."

"Yes, it looks like you were, my love. I'm sorry for doubting your judgment…" He sighed; he hated how she could go from happy to melancholy so quickly… Whenever she started acting like his wife rather than his childhood friend, she'd get like this. Yet another reason why he wasn't sure if their marriage had been for the best. Was she _really_ as happy as she claimed to be?

"Don't apologize Anju. It's not as if you did anything wrong. I'm the one that snapped at you yesterday, so_ I_ should be the one to apologize." She opened her mouth, no doubt to protest, when the clock on the wall chimed. Kafei's shift was officially over and Anju's could now begin until they took a break for lunch. He'd have to start cooking soon, but first… "I'm going to check up on Vaati. Have _fun_." She stuck her tongue out at him as he got up and headed for the stairs—he wasn't the only one to dislike the job at times. Greeting people was fun, but being by herself got boring quickly. Good thing she's just gotten a new book…

"Yes, yes… Oh, wait! I forgot to tell you earlier, but Vaati thanked you for breakfast." He nodded as he climbed the stairs, a smile forming on his face.

He just wished he knew _why_.

* * *

Vaati was glad that he'd slept enough lately to keep him from drifting off again, as quite frankly, he was tired of reliving that horrible day. After Anju had left, he'd stared at the ceiling for a while, visions of Kafei filling his mind. He hoped that his infatuation went away soon, because if he was foolish enough to fall for him… Well, he really wasn't up for such heartache. But certainly, a little fantasizing couldn't hurt… 

Then again, perhaps it _could_. Having such thoughts about a married man couldn't _possibly_ be healthy… He sighed and dragged himself out of bed, attempting to focus on something—_anything_—else but his handsome savior. Standing up, he suddenly remembered that he _was_ a human now… Finding that bathroom Kafei had mentioned before sounded like a good idea.

A short time later he slowly walked back to the room, his bear feet silent on the cold floor. He'd have to see about some slippers later… After closing the door, he picked up the brush and clothes Anju had left him, his face flushing when it fully clicked that these were _Kafei's_. He knew he was acting like a schoolgirl with her first crush, but as long as no one _else_ knew...

First, he brushed his long hair out, finding it not that bad considering he'd been jostled around so much getting from where he'd started and to his room. He then laid out the clothes—a long-sleeved white shirt with red embroidery on the cuffs and loose brown pants—noting that Kafei was indeed his size. That was good, as now he'd have something to wear until he could buy a new wardrobe. Somehow, he doubted that he'd fit in wearing his normal outfit, which was just a larger version of what he'd worn when he'd tried to rule Hyrule… If the rest of the town dressed like Kafei and Anju, then he'd _definitely_ stick out like a sore thumb.

He was stripping down to his undergarments when the door opened, though he didn't hear it until—

"How are you toda—oh my! I—I'm sorry!" Vaati stared at the blushing man for a few seconds, before his own blush came back. It wasn't as if he was naked or anything, but _still_… "Um, I'll step out while you dress. Just say something when you're done…" Kafei quickly rushed out, leaving Vaati alone yet again. The sorcerer slowly dressed, pondering the situation…

Well, it certainly wasn't a _bad_ reaction… But he wouldn't get his hopes up.

* * *

In the hallway, Kafei leaned against the wall, his face burning and his heart racing. He felt absolutely foolish! Vaati had been in his underwear, not _naked_. And even if he _had_ been, it wasn't as if the other man had anything that he didn't… 

'_Honestly, I'm acting like a **child**… You're twenty-three Kafei; start acting like it! There's nothing to be embarrassed about…_'

"I'm done…" Vaati's voice from inside the room snapped him out of his self-lecture. He took a deep breath to compose himself, willed the blush off his cheeks, and stepped back into the room. Vaati, now dressed in the clothes Kafei had given to Anju that morning, was sitting on the bed. His face was still a light shade of red, and Kafei could only assume that he was embarrassed about being caught with such little clothing on.

"I'm sorry," he said again, taking his previous seat beside the bed, "I should have knocked." The sorcerer shrugged, not meeting Kafei's gaze.

"It's all right… It's _your_ house after all…"

"Yes, but this is _your_ room now." They sat in silence for a while, neither quite knowing what to say. Once it got to be too much, Kafei decided to try asking his initial question again. "So, how are you feeling today? I can see that you're able to walk, and it looks like your fever is gone..." Kafei put his hand to Vaati's forehead, not noticing the other's blush flare up again at the contact. "Yes, you seem to be fine now."

"I suspect there was a disturbance between my magic and this world that caused it," Vaati explained as Kafei, unfortunately, withdrew his hand. "Whatever the problem was, my equilibrium has returned and fixed it. As for how I feel, well, I'm still a bit tired, but nothing major." Kafei nodded, leaning back in the chair and absently glancing out the window.

"That's good to hear. It's a nice day out, so maybe I can start showing you around town… We should at least buy you a few things." He smirked, not knowing what the expression was doing to poor Vaati. "The price can come out of your salary."

…Three seconds later, Kafei was a lying in a heap on the floor, the chair tipped over beside him.

"Oops," Vaati apologized, _completely_ insincere, "my leg must have had a nervous twitch…" Kafei snorted as he got to his feet, reminding himself not to tip his chair back around Vaati anymore.

"_Sure_ it did… Now I can see how you managed to take over a kingdom, you bratty demon…" Vaati laughed at the teasing tone, feeling better by the second. Having Kafei there seemed to make his strength return much faster…

"Just wait until I can use my powers again. I'll _never_ let your pretty hair look anything but wind-swept again. And it'll serve you right, making a poor, innocent, _sick_ man pay for his own things when he has no rupees!"

The pair bantered back and forth like old friends, unaware that they were being spied on. Anju had run up when she'd heard the chair crash, and though she knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, she hadn't been able to stop herself from peeking in and watching them. Something about this… It just didn't seem right.

'_They haven't even known each other for a whole day and they already seem so at ease around the other… Kafei is usually so cold with everyone but me! What makes Vaati so special…?_'

As soon as she'd thought it, she regretted it. It wasn't his fault that her husband liked him, even if that _was_ a rare occurrence. He'd liked Link after all, and she hadn't minded that… She scolded herself for being silly and quietly returned downstairs. Still, despite realizing that she had no reason to be suspicious, she couldn't help but wonder why Vaati had said that Kafei's hair was _pretty_…

* * *

"…You really like purple, don't you?" Vaati looked up from the clothes he'd been inspecting, a confused look on his face. 

"What are you talking about?" They were in West Clock Town at a clothing shop, doing just what Kafei had suggested that they do. He was in charge of holding the clothes Vaati picked out, and so far, ninety percent of it had some shade of purple _somewhere_. "Oh, yes, I suppose I do… Your hair is purple, so you can't hate it _too_ much…"

"It's not like I picked my hair color, but yes, I do like it well enough. Maybe not _this_ much though…"

Ever since they left the inn—promising Anju they'd be back by lunchtime—they'd been receiving curious glances and outright stares from almost everyone. Some of the people had seen him carrying Vaati the other day and wanted to know what had happened. Of the ones who hadn't, some wanted to know who the strange new man with the mayor's son was, and some were just downright amazed that Kafei was _actually_ being sociable. But no one dared assume that his good spirits would apply to them as well, so no one approached him. However, _plenty_ eavesdropped.

"Well, this is a good start. Sorry if my like of a color _offends_ you." Kafei smirked, taking the heap of clothing to the counter and getting out his rupees.

"You're forgiven." Vaati couldn't wait to use his magic again… He'd wipe that smirk right off Kafei's perfect face…

"Pompous jerk. I should turn you to stone…" Kafei laughed, the girl working there being astounded by the sound. Kafei? _Laughing_? And not about to kill anyone? It was a miracle…

"I thought you saved that for princesses?" The poor girl working there had _no_ idea what they were talking about…

"Well, you have the hair to be a princess. If we got you in a dress…" …And she didn't think that she wanted to know either.

"_You_ look more like a girl than _I _do. Sure you're not a sorcer_ess_?"

"You're the one that saw me in only my underwear. You tell me."

But _damn_, was she going to have some juicy gossip later!


	4. Chapter 3

Kismet—Chapter Three

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for eventual yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Well, it seems that I lied… I was able to get Vaati's description in here at least, though I still urge you to look at those pictures. More things are explained here, and the first day _finally_ finishes. The middle part of Vaati's dream is in here too, so if you'd like to read the entire sequence so far, put the part in this chapter in between the last two. Sure, it's nothing you didn't already expect, but it _was_ necessary. And yes, more of his past will come through the dreams. I'll also remind everyone that the manga versions come first, with the games filling in gaps, so please don't say that I got details wrong if you haven't read it. Remember, Kafei's parts in Majora's Mask come from the _manga_. And if there is anything that you'd like to see, I'm taking ideas!

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-03-07

* * *

Anju read her newest book as she awaited her husband and his new friend—the very notion _still_ amazed her—to return. In all honesty, she hadn't even looked to see what the book was about; she just picked it because the cover had hearts and rainbows and generally looked like one of those sappy romances that she loved so much. But now, after being a good way into the story, she could see why she'd received such odd looks when she'd paid for it…

'_But what if she finds out? We could never face the town again if they knew…'_

'_She won't find out my love. And even if she does, it matters not. I shall stay with you until the end of time.'_

'_Yes, we'll face the dawn together…_'

Oh yes, she'd been right—it was _horribly_ romantic. Two people in love, but in fear of being caught since the man was married to an insufferable woman whom he'd never loved in the first place. The only difference between this novel and all of the others sitting on her bookshelf was that this one had the secret lover as another _man_, not a girl. She found that the small change actually made it even _more_ romantic…

"Anju, we're back!" She looked up from her book, only to see them walk past her without another word and head upstairs. She shrugged it off and turned back to her book, figuring that it would do Kafei some good to have a friend that wasn't herself or Cremia. After all, it wasn't as if they were the characters in her book. She was a good wife, Kafei loved her, and Vaati wasn't interested in her husband like _that_.

'_Well, I **hope** he isn't at least…_'

* * *

After Kafei helped Vaati bring his bags up, he left to start on lunch while the sorcerer took care of his new clothing. He wasn't _really_ going to make Vaati pay him back, but their banter had been…fun. Kafei knew that he wasn't exactly the most fun guy in the world, but something about the newcomer made him forget that his family and the town were full of idiots and just enjoy himself. His spirits hadn't felt this light since he and Anju had been younger, before his grandfather died and his father became mayor. Something about it was a bit different though… He just wasn't sure _what _exactly.

He was in the middle of cutting up vegetables when his inner thoughts were broken by a voice _very_ close to his ear.

"_Boo_." Kafei jumped at the sudden noise, having been too absorbed with his thoughts to hear any footsteps ahead of time. He spun around, knife in hand, and was met with the sight of Vaati laughing at him. Kafei scowled and quickly turned around, an embarrassed blush at being caught off guard spread across his cheeks.

"Bastard," he muttered, chopping a carrot with a bit more force than was probably necessary. "Don't you know that you shouldn't surprise people when they have sharp objects? And I thought you said earlier that you were still tired?"

"I've been attacked with a _sword_. I honestly doubt that a _kitchen knife_ could do too much damage... And I feel fine. The fresh air must have helped…" Despite his words, Vaati sat down on a nearby stool and watched Kafei work his magic. "I won't be going out and casting any big spells in the near future, but I'll go crazy if I have to lie in that bed all day long… And trust me, my mental health _isn't_ pristine."

"You act like you're proud of tha—ow! Dammit, why is everyone _doing_ that today?" Vaati tossed the cookbook that he'd just hit Kafei's head with back on the counter and smirked.

"I might have repented, and my upbringing may be overly polite at times, but I don't pretend to be a saint." Kafei snorted at the very idea. No, Vaati might not have been a homicidal maniac, but he was still about as innocent as Anju…

"I can see that. Looks like we'll both be learning a few things about each other whether we like it or not…" Truthfully? He really didn't mind.

"Yes, I suppose it does." And Vaati _definitely_ didn't mind.

There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes as Kafei finished the chopping and set to work getting them boiling. He was aware that Vaati was watching his every move, though he thought nothing of it. Most people didn't think he was the domestic sort, so seeing him so at home in the kitchen often captivated company, much to his amusement. He'd put the meat in the oven that morning for slow roasting, so all that was left was to clean up. He moved his dirty utensils and bowls over to the sink, but he stopped short of turning the water on when Vaati rose and stood next to him.

"…Yes?" He watched as the sorcerer rolled up his sleeves and picked up the sponge from the counter. It was safe to say that Kafei was more than a bit baffled.

"You act like no one's ever offered to help before. Honestly… Look, I don't know where you keep anything, so I'll wash, and you can dry and take care of them. Deal?"

"But why—?" Vaati rolled his eyes in exasperation, only serving to add to Kafei's confusion.

"I'm staying here for free and helping out, correct? Since you cooked, I should help clean. It's only fair…" Kafei nodded and got out a dishtowel as Vaati filled the sink with soap and water. It wasn't that he was ungrateful for the help, he just wasn't used to it. Anju knew that he liked to be alone with his thoughts, so she'd stopped offering a long time ago, but now…

"Thank you…" Vaati shot him a smile, and Kafei could honestly say that being alone was the last thing he wanted right now.

"No problem."

* * *

"This… It seems so…" Vaati laughed as he handed Kafei the last pot. That look of bewilderment on his face was quite amusing.

"Full of domestic bliss?" Kafei's eyebrows rose at that, but when he thought about it…

"Actually, yes. I've never asked Anju for help before, but it does seem like something couples should do…" Something was telling Vaati that he should take advantage of this. There was something underlying those words, and if he could just dig a _little_ deeper… But no. He'd sworn not to cause trouble, and he wouldn't… Even if he _really_ wanted to.

"Well, you would make an _awfully_ cute housewife…" It really didn't surprise him when the wet dishtowel hit his face. In his opinion, it had been completely worth it to see the blush on Kafei's face.

"I… I have to get lunch ready." Vaati watched the flushing man rush to the other side of the kitchen, proud of the deep red he'd been able to put there with just a few words. Maybe he'd sworn not to cause serious trouble, but he'd never said anything about a little harmless fun…

* * *

They took a lunch break shortly after, and it was then that Vaati learned of the dining room connected to the kitchen. He made a note to ask Kafei about a tour of the inn later; if he was going to live _and_ work there, he should probably know where everything was. Anju joined them, claiming that the chances of someone actually coming and needing their assistance was slim to none. And as they sat around the table and ate, Vaati got his first look at the way the married couple interacted…

"Why did you bring your book to the table?" The redhead giggled nervously at being caught. She'd been hiding it under the table, though she supposed that it was silly to think he wouldn't notice her flipping pages in between bites…

"Um… It's just so good and—hey! No, please…" It was to no avail though—Kafei had already snatched it from her and was reading the back.

Vaati watched the pair with great interest. Anju reaching over the table to grab her book, Kafei leaning just out of her reach… They were acting more like children than husband and wife. He'd expected them to be more…loving. But so far, his first impression wasn't giving him that feeling at all.

'_If he hadn't told me they're married, I'd think she's his sister…_'

"…Anju? Is there something you'd like to tell me?" She let out an indignant huff and lunged for the book, finally managing to retrieve it from her smirking husband.

"I told you, it's good…"

"I just never knew you liked to read about men cheating on their wives with other men." Vaati, who had just taken a bite while he listened to their banter, immediately started choking at those words. Kafei momentarily abandoned his teasing and pounded Vaati on the back until the sorcerer stopped coughing. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Vaati wheezed, taking a large gulp of water before he attempted to say anymore. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"No problem," Kafei replied, though the worry was evident in his eyes. However, he didn't push it and instead returned his attention to Anju. The book was apparently forgotten, as Kafei asked something about Anju's mother that Vaati quickly tuned out. _He_ didn't know her after all.

'_Why is she reading something like that? I wonder what Kafei thinks about it… Would they think anything of it if I asked to borrow the book when she's done…?_'

"What do you mean '_she'll be back tomorrow'_?" Kafei's irritated tone cut through his thoughts, and he suddenly wished that he'd been paying attention.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? I got a letter a few days ago; the doctor said nothing was wrong, so they're coming back a week early… Oh darling, don't give me that look! Why can't you two just get along?" Kafei sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in clear annoyance.

"We'll talk about this later." Vaati could only assume that meant that the eventual argument wasn't meant for his ears.

"But—"

"_Later_," he stressed tensely, picking up his fork and poking at his food to avoid her hurt gaze. She merely nodded, and the room fell into a silence that was far from comfortable. And poor Vaati had _no idea_ what was going on…

* * *

After they'd eaten, Vaati had offered to clean up while Kafei and Anju discussed whatever was going on in private. Kafei had shot him a grateful look before he'd left, and the sorcerer quickly got to work to keep from swooning. He'd managed to go twenty years as a Picori without having these feelings… He wondered how Kafei had managed to change that in less than a day.

"You there! Who are you?" Vaati quickly spun around, almost dropping the glasses he'd been holding at the unexpected voice. The sight he was met with was even _more_ surprising though. There stood a large woman with strange hair, wearing a yellow dress a size too small and an abundance of gaudy jewelry. The scowl on her face made her even _more_ frightening. He opened his mouth to answer her, but she beat him to it. "You must be that poof everyone in town is talking about! How dare you sully my son's good name?!"

"I… I'm Vaati. I'm living here as of last night. Who are _you_?" It wasn't the first time he'd been called such names, but it was certainly the first time that a complete stranger had insulted him to his face. But as she deepened her scowl, he was sure that she at least _thought_ she knew who he was.

"I'm Madame Aroma, Kafei's mother. And oh, it's worse than I thought! You only met last night and you've already seduced him? Oh, this is horrible, simply horrible!" …Seduced? Yeah, Vaati _wished_.

"Madame, you have it all wro—"

"Don't give me that!" she exclaimed, cutting him off. "I heard the girls talking in town… He was buying you gifts, you were flirting in public, and you even admitted to seeing each other naked!"

"W-what?" he sputtered, feeling the heat rise to his face. "No, he was paying for some clothes since I don't have any rupees, and we were just teasing each other… He walked in this morning when I was changing, but I wasn't naked!" Unfortunately, the irate woman didn't look convinced.

"A likely story! If you expect me to believe that, then—" She stopped suddenly as the door banged open and Kafei stalked in, a dark look in his eyes.

"I thought I heard your screeching," he told her, his tone one step away from snarling. "I told Anju we should put a lock on the back door… Now why the hell are you harassing my friend?" Had Vaati not been more or less freaked out by the large woman and Kafei's obvious dislike of her, he most likely would have flushed at hearing Kafei call him his friend.

"Friend?!" came the disbelieving cry. "Don't try to fool me Kafei; the only time you have _friends_ is when you're drunk out of your mind!" The room fell deathly silent at those words. Nothing was said for a while, during which time Vaati kept waiting for Kafei to explode… But it never came.

"Get out of my house," he said calmly, breaking the stillness with more force than if he'd shouted. "Get out right now and don't come back until you know what you're talking about. Understand?" She started to say something, but the glare Kafei fixed her with effectively stopped any argument. She bristled indignantly and quickly fled the house, leaving through the back door, just as she'd entered. When the door slammed behind her, Kafei sighed wearily and motioned for Vaati to sit down. The sorcerer did so, and seconds later, he was joined by the troubled looking man. "I suppose you'd like to know what that was all about…"

"Well, yes," Vaati admitted, "but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's probably too personal to tell someone you just met." Kafei looked at Vaati thoughtfully, red eyes meeting red.

"That's the thing; it doesn't _feel_ like I just met you. I can't explain it, but I feel comfortable around you. I like you… Besides, I'm sure you'll hear it around town anyway, so I might as well tell you this myself. I'm not sociable. I don't like many people. I can't stand my family, as I'm sure you noticed. I don't have many real friends other than Anju, a girl named Cremia, and a few people I can only stand when I drink. But, well… You're different. I haven't come to like anyone this quickly since I met Anju, and I was _four_ back then. …Does this make any sense?"

"Yes," Vaati agreed with little hesitation. Of course, the attraction he was feeling towards Kafei was of a different nature, but it was still unexpected. "It makes perfect sense. I never had any friends at all in the village. My parents drowned when I was younger, and Master Ezlo took me in since I had nowhere to go. When I was old enough to do the work, he took me on as an apprentice. It wasn't that I didn't like the other Picori… Most of them didn't like _me_. So I threw myself into my studies. I was good at memorizing things, but the practical work was hard. It was around that time I began studying the human heart, and, well, I told you the rest last night."

"I'm sorry about your parents… But why didn't the others like you?" Vaati winced at the question, lowering his gaze to the table. Kafei immediately knew it was the wrong thing to ask.

"I… I'm sorry. I'd like to tell you, but…"

"No, it's all right," Kafei interrupted, "you don't have to say it. Just… Remember that no matter what it is, I won't judge you. Everyone has their own dirty little secrets, and I'm sure that yours are no worse than anyone else's." Vaati murmured his thanks and silence once more filled the room, though it was much more comfortable this time. Eventually, Kafei was the one to break it yet again. "How old are you anyway?"

"Twenty. My parents died when I was twelve, and I was sixteen when Master Ezlo decided I was mature enough to start teaching me. I'd just turned nineteen when I stole the wishing hat. I think that's why my human form was so young the first time around… No one hated me when I was younger…" He trailed off, a sad gleam in his eyes. After a few moments, he shook his head and continued. "And what about you?"

"Twenty three…" He still felt bad about bringing up such a sensitive subject, but how to fix it…? "I've been twelve twice too." That perked the sorcerer up.

"Really?" Kafei nodded, pleased with his smooth change of subject.

"Yes, it was less than half a year ago, while I was still twenty-two. Anju and I were about to be married, and I ran into a boy after I'd been showing those drinking buddies I told you about my wedding mask, the Sun Mask. In Clock Town, we have a yearly celebration called the Carnival of Time, and they say that if you get married on that day and exchange the Sun and Moon Masks, your marriage will be prosperous. But that strange kid, Stalkid, put a curse on me that regressed my age by ten years. I couldn't face Anju like that, so I hid for three days until a kid named Link—he looked a lot like the kid you described—came along. Then there was the moon… It's complicated. But Link saved the town and Stalkid's curse was broken."

"Wow…" Well, that explained why Kafei hadn't had any trouble believing his story about the Picori. "I guess we have more in common then I thought, huh?" Kafei smiled, his previous tension gone and replaced with a feeling of contentment. Maybe he didn't know _why_ Vaati was different… But it didn't really matter.

"Yeah, I guess we do."

* * *

The rest of the day went smoothly. Kafei took his next shift shortly after their talk and showed Vaati how extremely boring it could get. Anju took that time to read more of her book up in her room, much to Kafei's amusement and Vaati's curiosity. During that time, Kafei explained more about his family—his father who couldn't stand up to his overbearing wife and had become mayor after his grandfather had died six years ago, and his mother who had no right insinuating that he was a drunk when _she_ practically lived at the Milk Bar—as well as his wife's…

"Anju's grandmother lives with us in the room down here. Her mother lives in South Clock Town, but she's over here a _lot_. If you thought that I didn't get along with my _own_ mother… Well, you haven't seen _anything_ yet. They went out of town to see a specialist and weren't supposed to be back until next week, but Anju forgot to tell me that they were done early until today. Sorry that you don't have much time to prepare…"

"It's okay," Vaati had assured him, "but what's so bad about them?" Kafei had laughed at the very question.

"Oh, her grandmother isn't bad. She refuses to eat Anju's cooking, tells long stories, and will most likely call you Tortus, after Anju's father, but she's not a bother. Her mother though… She's the most overprotective, overbearing witch you will _ever_ meet. She's hated me ever since I met Anju, for reasons I've never been able to figure out. And since you're my friend, she'll most likely hate you too. Just try to stay away from her and hopefully she won't drive you away…"

Vaati hadn't mentioned that he wasn't about to go _anywhere,_ no matter how much of a bitch she was.

Anju came back down in time for Kafei to make dinner. Vaati had stayed back a few minutes before he followed when he saw that Anju still had her book…

"Anju… I know this will sound strange, but… Do you think that I could borrow that once you're done reading it?" She blinked up at him, thoroughly confused by the blush settled on his cheeks.

"Um, sure! I'll probably be done sometime tomorrow… It's hard to put down! But are you sure you want to? It _does_ have two men…" He nodded quickly, assuring her that it was okay and then hastily thanking her before he rushed to the kitchen to help Kafei. During dinner, he had a hard time looking her in the eyes, and she yet again wondered if there was more to this mysterious man than he was letting on…

* * *

The inn closed before dinner during the off-season, so afterwards they'd finally been free to do whatever they'd pleased. Anju had gone back to her room with her book, Kafei had stayed in the kitchen to clean and get things ready for the next day, and Vaati had finally retired to his room. Though he'd felt fine that day, he'd had an awful fever the night before, and he still wasn't back to full strength. Being on his feet all day was finally taking its toll and exhaustion was quickly catching up.

'_Today was one of the best days I've had in a long time…_' he thought as he changed into the nightclothes Kafei had bought for him—light purple silk with blue swirls embroidered on the sleeves and cuffs and warm navy colored slippers. '_Anju isn't a witch, Kafei thinks of me as a friend… I'm sure I can handle their mothers. If worst comes to worse, I'll have my powers back soon and can probably **scare** them away. Still, as nice as it is here, I wonder how Master Ezlo is doing… If he hadn't given me another chance, I never could have made my wishing hat and met Kafei…_'

He walked over to the bedside table and picked up his hat, looking it over carefully. It had been similar to the one Ezlo had made before he'd used it, though it had been a bit larger and it was a dark greenish blue. But now, it looked just like his old hat had been the last time he was a human. He wasn't sure where his original clothes were—perhaps they were wherever the inn's laundry room was?—but they had looked the same too, the only difference being that they had obviously grown in size to fit his adult body. And his body merely looked older than before too—his lavender hair was down to his waist, but the marks under his red eyes were still there and his skin was still as pale as ever.

'_I guess I liked my last look so much that I unconsciously wished to look like I had back then… Good choice_.'

His mental reflection was broken when there was a knock on the door.

"You aren't naked in there, are you?" Vaati rolled his eyes, but he was smiling nonetheless.

"No, come in." Kafei took the invitation and did so, a matching smile on his face.

"I had a feeling you'd be ready to sleep soon. A lot happened today… I figured I should say goodnight before you fell asleep." Vaati refused to blush anymore that day—he'd been doing that far too much lately than could _possibly_ be healthy—but it took a lot not to…

"Thanks. Yes, I'm fairly tired now that I can relax. I'll be going to sleep soon… So, goodnight then." Kafei nodded as he watched Vaati put his hat back down. He could only assume that had been his wishing hat at some point… He was glad the sorcerer had used it for good this time. It was nice having him here, and he wouldn't deny it.

"Yes, goodnight. Sweet dreams… Then you'll have something interesting to tell me tomorrow while we try to tune out Anju's mother." Vaati laughed as he kicked off his slippers and pulled back the covers on the bed.

"Sure, just make sure you do the same." Kafei nodded and turned to leave, the sorcerer's laughter making his smile grow.

"You've got it." With that, he was gone, and Vaati switched off the lamp and climbed into bed, wondering if his dreams would indeed be anything he could possibly share…

* * *

Kafei went up to bed late, hoping that Anju would be asleep by the time he got there. But no, she was still up and reading that book of hers, though her eyes were drooping. He shook his head as he got into bed, glad that she was at least too absorbed to bring up children again…

"Is reading about two men having an affair _really_ that interesting?" She shot him a look that was probably meant to be annoyed but just came off as exhausted.

"You'd be surprised. It's actually much more interesting this way, because I honestly don't know how it will turn out." She yawned and finally moved her bookmark into place, reluctantly putting the book on the side table. "…Vaati asked to borrow it when I was done you know." That…was very interesting.

"Did he now?" Part of him assumed that Vaati wanted something to occupy his free time, but the other part wondered if maybe, just maybe, this had something to do with his secret…

"Yes, and he was blushing too. I wonder why…?" …And now he thought that it was the latter idea even more.

"I have no idea," he lied. It was just a theory after all. And if he _was_ onto something, well, it wouldn't be his place to say anything.

"Oh, all right. Goodnight my dear. I love you." She shut off the light on her side and settled down to sleep as he did the same, his mind running with hundreds of theories.

"Goodnight…"

* * *

"_The other boys in the village, they said that they know my secret." Ezlo's sighed, shaking his head wearily._

"_That doesn't tell me much… What secret? And why would they hurt you for it?" Vaati took a deep breath to calm himself. Ezlo had been like his father for six years—he'd understand. He had to._

"_They said… They said that they know I like guys instead of girls. They said that I'm a disgrace to all Picori, and that if I ever tell anyone, they'll kill me… I'm so scared that they'll do it, and, and…"_

Even in his dreams, the memory brought chills to Vaati's body.


	5. Chapter 4

Kismet—Chapter Four

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for eventual yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Would you look at that, I got Kafei's description in too. Go me! Oh… This chapter is important, because it leads to things that are going to define the plot later on. Also, I made up names for various characters. They're random and mean nothing… Sorry if they're lame. And please, for the love of all that's holy, please review! It'd mean the world to me.

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-07-07

* * *

"_Vaati, please stop looking like I'm going to throw you out. It's all right." The poor apprentice was shaking like a leaf, seconds away from crying. He knew it was stupid, that he was too old to cry, but…_

"_You hate me, don't you?" Ezlo couldn't believe his ears…_

"_How can you think that? I've been your guardian for six years and your teacher for two. Do you honestly believe that I could hate you because of your choice in partners?" Well, when he put it that way…_

"_No… I'm sorry Master… But what should I do about the others?" Ezlo turned away from his student, not wanting to see his face when he said what the young man needed to hear…_

"…_You need to deal with them yourself." Vaati's eyes widened at the words, and he barely bit back a shocked gasp._

"_What?! But Master—!"_

"_No, I cannot help you with this. This will follow you your entire life, and you must learn to deal with it now. Even in the human world, ones such as you face persecution…"_

Vaati awoke not to a bang, but to the sun glaring in his eyes. He cursed himself for not shutting the blinds… But it was for the best. He knew what would have come next… That was the event that had lead to him seeking knowledge on the darkness in humans' hearts. The work, his personal life… Ezlo wouldn't help him with any of it. He understood _now_, but for a teenager who'd been receiving daily beatings and death threats, stealing a hat and getting instant power was very appealing…

The clock on the wall showed that it was still quite early—six thirty—but he figured that Kafei and Anju would be up by now… He decided that he'd ask about their usual schedules today. After all, if he was going to be a working there by himself eventually, it'd do him some good to know what time he should start waking up…

He changed out of his nightclothes—in the back of his mind, he reminded himself to bathe that night—and put on new clothes, a shirt much like the one he'd worn the day before, only with purple embroidery, and dark red slacks. It was a bit strange wearing clothes of that style, but he rather liked them. They were…poofy. Comfortable. And they looked _great_ on Kafei.

After brushing his hair and putting on his sandals, he quietly made his way downstairs, mindful of the fact that they _might_ still be asleep. And when he entered the front room, it seemed that he'd been right… Kafei was tipped back in his chair, his feet resting on the counter, sleeping soundly. Anju was nowhere in sight, so Vaati allowed himself the luxury of getting closer and studying the handsome man before him.

Today he was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with purple flames on the wide cuffs, a purple vest with golden trim, matching purple pants, and brown boots. Vaati might have been annoyed that the man had teased _him_ about liking the color the other day, but the fact that it suited him stopped any irritation that might have formed. His hair—a much darker shade of purple than Vaati's own lavender—went down past his shoulder blades. Not as long as the sorcerer's, but still longer than most men kept it. His skin was a healthy cream color, and though they were closed, Vaati knew that his eyes were bright red. In short, he was the most beautiful man Vaati had ever seen. Not even the women he'd met could complete with Kafei… Not that he paid attention to females of course.

As much as Vaati enjoyed the view, he knew that Kafei _probably_ hadn't meant to fall asleep. Besides, now was the perfect time to try something out… Concentrating, he brought his right middle and index fingers before his face and closed his eyes. His hair began to flutter slowly around him and suddenly—

"Ah!" —Kafei's chair was knocked over, and he went right along with it. He quickly scrambled to his feet, eyes wild, until… "Vaati, what the hell?" The Wind Sorcerer was torn between being amused, guilty, and proud. He settled on a bit of all three.

"I thought you would have learned not to do that…" He gracefully ignored the glare he was receiving. "And you'll be happy to know that I can still control the wind."

"Oh yes," Kafei mumbled, picking up his chair and sitting back down, "I'm _so_ pleased… You're not going to use me as a test subject for all of your powers are you? I don't fancy being turned to stone…"

"No, that'll be all I require of your services," he replied with a smirk. "Besides, it will still be a while before I can attempt the harder things again… Shape shifting and teleporting will come last, I'm sure." Kafei, dropping his faux anger, blinked in surprise.

"You…can do that?" Vaati rolled his eyes at the other man's amazement as he sat on the desk. He liked being higher than Kafei… He was a good half a head shorter than the other man, and he wondered why he always ended up so short, no matter what his form…

"I told you that I pretended to be the king of Hyrule… Did you think I just dressed up as him or something?" Kafei's sheepish look told him that yes, yes he had. "Well, yes, I can do both. But I won't attempt either of those anytime soon. They take more energy than controlling the wind. That's rather easy, but I should be completely back to full strength before I do anything as taxing on my magic as the others…"

"That's amazing…" It was painfully apparent to Vaati that Termina, or Clock Town at the very least, was lacking in magicians… It failed to dawn on him that his repertoire of powers was highly impressive to _anyone_.

"I suppose… Why were you asleep down here anyway? Is Anju up? What time do you normally get up?" Kafei easily adjusted to the change of subject—Anju did it to him all the time.

"We open at eight during the off season. Anju usually gets up right around that time, but I'm typically up at six. Today she got up early to go wait for her mother and grandmother at the town gates. She tried to convince me to wake you up so you could watch the place when we open, but I reminded her that you didn't know how things work around here… Not that we'll probably have any customers, but quite frankly, I'd rather jump off the clock tower than see that insufferable woman any sooner than absolutely necessary… Anyway, it took me a while to fall asleep last night, so I'm a bit tired."

He didn't mention that it was thoughts of Vaati that had kept him up. Vaati didn't ask.

"I see… Well, if we still have a while, how about I make breakfast?" Kafei was always weary about letting people into his kitchen, but more so now than ever.

"Do you know anything other than Picori cuisine?" Vaati laughed at his distrusting look and hopped off the counter.

"Why don't you stop being so paranoid, follow me, and find out?" Kafei carefully considered his options… Well, there was no way he could be worse than Anju at least, so he supposed it wouldn't hurt _too_ much.

"All right," he agreed, getting up and out from behind the counter, "but I'm coming too. I'm not letting you burn the inn down…" Vaati smirked, and Kafei was suddenly on his butt. He scowled as the sorcerer walked away, leaving him on the floor for the second time that morning.

'_This is going to take some getting used to…_'

* * *

It turned out that Vaati was indeed a good cook. When questioned how someone who had spent two decades being smaller than most human food could possibly know what he was doing, he explained that he'd spent his childhood living above a small restaurant in Hyrule Town. Then, after Ezlo had taken him in, he'd done the cooking there.

"You'd be surprised how many Picori foods more or less have human counterparts. Or how easy it is to sneak into a human kitchen in the middle of the night and get enough food to last a month. One sugar cube was enough to make more cakes than you could _possibly_ want."

Kafei decided to let Vaati use his kitchen in the future. And it worked out well, because Anju still wasn't back by noontime, so Vaati was able to cook them lunch while Kafei stayed at the front desk. They ate together at the counter, while Kafei taught the sorcerer about the inn's rules and rates. He caught on quickly, and by the time they'd finished eating—a vegetable dish that Kafei decided to get the recipe for later—they'd already worked out a new schedule that incorporated all three of them.

"This works out wonderfully… We won't have to hire as many extras during festivals, and now Anju won't have to get her mother to come over and help as much."

Vaati was getting just as nervous about their return, and he'd never even _met_ the woman before. Luckily, they managed to keep their minds off impending disaster by talking. Kafei explained more about the Festival of Time, while Vaati told more tales of the Picori. They were so absorbed by each other's tales that they didn't even notice the door opening until…

"Oh no, I knew it! See Anju, you should just pack up now—"

"No mom! I told you, it's not like that…" Vaati turned towards the noise and saw what Kafei had warned him of… Anju stood with a plump woman in a green dress with her hair in a bun and an elderly lady in a wheelchair. Obviously, they were Anju's mother and grandmother. The first voice had belonged to her mother.

"You heard the people in town dear! Why don't you just face the facts that he's—" He wasn't sure what was going on, but he assumed they were talking about Kafei. And Anju looked none too pleased by it…

"He's my _husband_ and we _love_ each other. I told you that Vaati is just his friend, so _please_, let's just drop it." He heard a low growl come from his side, and sure enough, Kafei was scowling beside him. _Now_ Vaati had a feeling he knew what was going on…

"Friend? The only friends he has are you and Cremia! Hasn't that ever struck you as odd?" Anju looked close to tears, and Kafei's scowl deepened. Vaati was left wondering how many fights could possibly break out in only two days.

"Riria," a gravelly voice cut in, "why don't you let them explain?" Anju's mother, Riria, kept quiet at her mother-in-law's request. Anju reminded herself to thank her grandmother later.

"Kafei, dear, maybe you can explain why everyone in town seems to think that you and Vaati are…doing things together? While we were coming here, everyone kept saying how sorry they were for me, and one man even offered to marry me when I divorced my "cheating husband." Tell me there's a misunderstanding…" Kafei mumbled something that sounded like '_you **must** be kidding…_' under his breath. Vaati felt a blush creep onto his cheeks, wondering why the whole town thought that when he'd only met five people here so far… And part of him lamented the fact that it wasn't true.

"Yesterday I walked into Vaati's room while he was changing by accident. While we were at the clothing stop, we were joking about it, and the girl working there must have taken it the wrong way and started spreading rumors. Whatever you heard, it's not true." Anju looked visibly relieved by the news, but Riria wasn't so easily convinced.

"What a _convenient_ story. Just like your convenient proposal to my daughter after those rumors got out…" Before Vaati could even _wonder_ what that meant, Kafei was up and heading towards the door. Anju cried for him to come back, but he merely walked out without a word to any of them. The poor girl was even closer to tears at the sight of her husband storming out for the second time in only three days. "See? He won't even deny it! You should get over your denial and divorce him already—"

Riria kept talking, but Vaati didn't hear anymore, deciding that following Kafei was preferable to listening to someone berate him. He was lucky enough to be a fast runner, and thus was able to see a flash of purple hair rounding a corner just in time. Turning that way, he sprinted until he was within hearing distance.

"Kafei, wait!" Said man stopped abruptly, but he didn't turn around. Once the sorcerer had caught up, he started walking again. They continued on in silence for a while, ignoring all passersby who whispered frantically upon seeing them together, until they reached a small section of the town. It was peaceful compared to the other parts of town Vaati had been to, and there was a beautiful pool of water that seemed out of place in the busy town. Kafei led him over to the pool, and they sat side by side next to the water.

"This is the Laundry Pool," Kafei finally spoke, sounding far calmer than Vaati had expected. "When I was a child—both times—I liked to come here when I needed to be alone. It's not very popular… I think the people here hate peace and quiet sometimes. I don't have much time to come here anymore, but I still get away whenever I can." Vaati couldn't help but feel privileged that Kafei had brought him here. It seemed…special.

"Thank you for letting me come. It's lovely here." Kafei shrugged, though there was a small smile on his face.

"Well, it's not like I own the place, but you're welcome. Anju could never sit still long enough to appreciate it…" He sighed then, looking out at the water, the smile suddenly gone. "I was hoping that Riria wouldn't cause trouble, but I should have known that was too much to ask. She didn't even wait for introductions before she started throwing around accusations… And now I have more things to explain…" Kafei might have been looking at the water, but Vaati was carefully studying Kafei. Whatever these rumors were, they were of a different nature than the things he'd heard from Madame Aroma. He was intrigued, to say the least.

"It would probably be for the best, so you can tell me what _really_ happened." Kafei sighed again and nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Yes, of course… It was right before I proposed to Anju, about a week or so. I was at the Milk Bar with the only of my drinking buddies that I _don't_ hate when we're sober, Tomo. He runs the Curiosity Shop, which, by the way, I suggest you never buy from unless I'm with you. Anyway, what you must understand is that I'm far from a drunkard. First of all, I don't have enough time to go to the bar on any regular basis, and most of all, it takes a ridiculously small amount of alcohol to make me an utter fool. Anju never liked me going there at any rate. Even when I turned eighteen, she refused to go with me—"

"Wait," Vaati cut him off, his amusement evident by his tone, "are you saying that Anju is _older_ than you?" Kafei finally turned to the younger man, the warning clear in his eyes.

"One word and you'll be taking an impromptu swim in the pool. Understand?" Vaati bit back his laughter and nodded.

"Of course. Please, carry on." Kafei doubted that it would be the last he heard on the subject, but he continued nonetheless.

"As I was saying… We'd agreed to go out drinking that night. This town loves gossip, and the lot of them will latch onto anything they can get their claws into, no matter how ridiculous. So by the time I woke up the next day, everyone was convinced that Tomo and I were secret lovers… It was the most preposterous thing I'd ever heard, but only Anju believed me. Even Cremia thought it was true…" Vaati listened very carefully to the story, his eyes widening at the tale. So, that's why Riria had called his engagement suspicious… He wouldn't say it, but he agreed that the timing was impeccable. But surely, there was more to it than that…

"How did the rumor start? There must have been a reason." Kafei turned back to the pool, a troubled look in his eyes.

"I honestly don't know…" Such a vague answer… He must know _something_—Vaati just knew it… What was going on? But before he could ask anything more on the subject, Kafei continued, "That unbearable gossipmonger should be gone by know. Shall we return?"

"Sure…" As much as he wanted to continue, he could see that the conversation was over. But it was okay… Now he had a mystery to solve.

'_There's more going on here than you'll admit Kafei… And trust me, I **will** find out_.'

* * *

Sure enough, Riria had left by the time the two men returned, and Anju had settled her grandmother into her room. She'd tried to apologize for her mother's behavior, but Kafei had brushed her off with the excuse that he needed to start dinner. She'd let him go with a worried look on her face, but when Vaati followed him, she called him back.

"Vaati, can I please speak with you for a minute?" Kafei continued on without waiting for his answer, leaving him no choice but to agree. It worked out though—maybe Anju had some answers…

"Of course. What is it?" She pulled out a familiar looking book from under the counter and handed it to him. If she noticed the faint flush he took on, she didn't mention it.

"I finished this while you two were gone, so you can borrow it now… Where were you anyway?" He picked up the book, glad that she didn't question him on that subject at least…

"He took me to the Laundry Pool."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening slightly. "He doesn't usually bring people there… He thinks of it as his own little corner of town. But I can't say I'm surprised… He really likes you. I don't know if he's told you, but he doesn't get along with many people." He nodded, a bit surprised that she'd admit such things without even knowing how much he already knew…

"Yes… He mentioned that you, Cremia, and Tomo were his only friends." It seemed that this conversation was full of surprises, because her eyes widened even more.

"He…told you about Tomo? I didn't think he'd tell you about him after what my mother said… He hates being reminded that he'd lost control like that… It's hard to prove your innocence when you can't even remember what happened, you know? Oh, but I believe him anyway. He'd been planning on proposing to me you know…" He agreed, pretending that he had indeed known. Just what he'd been hoping for… And he hadn't even needed to ask!

Before the conversation could continue, Kafei walked back into the room, a preoccupied look on his face. Vaati did his best to hide the book behind his back, not knowing that Anju had already told him about it, but he didn't even notice.

"Vaati, could you do me a favor and take the food out of the oven when the timer goes off? I need to go do something in town… You and Anju can start eating if I'm not back by then." Before either could stop or even question him, he was out the door. Anju looked greatly troubled by his actions, but she let him go yet again.

"I wish he'd tell me what's wrong…"

Vaati did too.

* * *

By the time Kafei returned to the inn, they'd both eaten, Vaati had cleaned up, Anju had closed up for the night, and they'd gone to their respective rooms. Kafei quietly made his way upstairs, the troubled look from earlier still evident in his eyes. His first stop? Vaati's room.

The sorcerer looked up as he opened the door and stepped in, and Kafei couldn't help but smile a bit as he tried to hide Anju's book from view. Deciding that there'd been enough going on that day already, he decided not to mention it. Instead, he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed at the younger man's feet.

"I'm sorry I left without any warning. I know you aren't used to it like Anju…" Vaati shook his head, concerned, but not wanting to seem desperate for answers.

"It's okay. You don't have to explain yourself." Kafei laughed softly, but it was devoid of humor.

"No, it's not okay… But I appreciate it nonetheless. Thank you for putting up with all of this… My mother, Riria, _me_. I'm surprised you haven't left in the middle of the night yet." He'd taken over a kingdom, almost killed a princess and a hero, and been one step away from ruling the world… And yet, he'd trade all of that former glory just to make the man before him happy.

"…Trust me, I don't want to be anywhere than right here." '_With you_' went unsaid, but implied. Kafei's expression was a mixture of confusion and gratitude.

"I-I'm glad." They say silently, only their faint breathing being any indication that the room was occupied. Kafei suddenly stood up, and just like that, the spell was broken. It was hard to tell who was more disappointed. "Goodnight."

Three days. Three days of knowing each other, and he was already more confused than he'd ever been in his entire life… And as he entered his room and laid next to the sleeping woman whom he called his wife, his confusion only grew.

* * *

'_You want to make your own wishing hat?' Vaati nodded, a determined glint in his eyes._

'_Yes Master, more than anything. I need to prove that I can work hard and succeed…' Ezlo shook his head good-naturedly. That was his apprentice, always so full of grand ideas…_

'_Why not try something a bit easier then? It took me a long time to make mine, so you would be required to work night and day—'_

'_Master,' he cut him off, his tone cheerless, 'no one likes me here. The other Picori hate me more than ever. I need to get away, to go somewhere new, where I can help people instead of hurt them… I want to be a human again. Then maybe…' Ezlo laid his hand on the small Picori's shoulder, smiling gently at him. He understood… Vaati had never fit in here. There was nothing for him in the Picori world but Ezlo himself. No other family or friends, no one to love… Vaati would never find a mate here. No, he needed to start a **new** life…_

'_All right. We'll get started tomorrow morning, bright and early…'_


	6. Chapter 5

Kismet—Chapter Five

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for eventual yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Oh… Are we getting places? Oh yes, yes we are! Still quite a ways to go before domestic bliss of course, but, well, you'll see! I rather like this one… And there are only two more characters Vaati needs to meet after this chapter. It's been fairly angsty so far and it's going to be more so for a little while, but we'll be into fluff and romance before you know it… Just stick around and you'll hopefully be pleased. Remember, comments of any sort make me happy! Don't worry though; I won't demand them for more chapters… They're just a nice way to let me know you like this!

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-13-07

* * *

The next three days went by much the same as the others had—minus the meddling mothers of course. Vaati learned more about the inn and got the tour he'd desired, finding that the only other room of interest was the laundry room, which was next to the bathroom and was indeed where his old clothes were. Kafei cooked most of the meals, occasionally letting the sorcerer take over, and the two always cleaned up together. It was like bonding time, and after what had happened with Riria, it was very much appreciated. Little things were learned here and there, but Vaati still didn't know what Kafei had done at the bar and Kafei still didn't know why the Picori had hated Vaati… Both had their theories though.

Anju busied herself by taking care of her grandmother and reading her new books. As it turned out, there was an entire alternative romance section at the bookshop that she'd never noticed before. In fact, the author of her last book had written an entire series. Needless to say, she now dubbed that section to be her favorite.

"What are you reading now?" Vaati had asked her on the fifth day, after he'd noticed her being quite absorbed in another book during one of her shifts.

"The sequel to the book I let you borrow," she'd answered cheerfully. "I won't spoil anything for you, but it's very good so far. Would you like to read this one once I'm done?"

"If you don't mind. I'm halfway done the one you gave me the other day. It's wonderful." Anju had desperately wanted to ask him the burning question on her mind, but she knew that it would be rude to ask such things out of the blue…

"I could show you the bookshop later if you'd like. There's a whole section of books like this." And when Vaati had readily agreed that it was a grand idea, well, Anju more or less had her questions answered.

* * *

It wasn't until the seventh day—marking a week since Vaati had arrived—that anything further out of the ordinary happened. After lunch, Anju took Vaati to the bookshop, claiming that though they couldn't pay him much, she could still buy him a few books to pay him back for keeping her husband company… As long as he let _her_ read them too of course.

After they had left, Kafei—only knowing _where_ they were going, not _why_—sat down and got ready for another few boring hours of nothing but himself, his thoughts, and occasionally checking to make sure that Elain was all right. He knew that Vaati's constant presence had spoiled him, but he didn't think much of it. After all, he only had four friends. Cremia lived on the ranch, Tomo had his own business to tend to, and he was married to Anju and couldn't risk her acting like his wife rather than his best friend… But Vaati was different. He lived right at the inn, had no other friends but Anju, and had no rupees to go do anything…

'_It's probably a good thing that he stays here all of the time_,' he thought as he absently tapped the guestbook's quill against the counter, _'If he got to talk to too many people, they'd find out the rumors about us are false and half of the woman in town would be knocking down the doors to get to him…_'

Consciously, he refused to admit that the very _idea_ of Vaati being with any of the townswomen sparked feelings of jealousy. Unconsciously, however, he wanted to strangle those imaginary women with his bare hands. The fact that he'd insinuated that he didn't want the rumors about himself and Vaati to be dispelled went completely unnoticed.

A mere half an hour after Anju and Vaati left, Kafei's peace was broken by the door opening. Obviously, it was far too early for them to have returned, and the odds of having a customer at this time of year were highly unlikely… And sure enough, when he saw who it was, he wished he'd just been left alone.

"Hello father." Mayor Dotour stood in the doorway, looking horribly out of place outside of his dreary office. In the nineteen years that Anju's family had owned the Stock Pot Inn, he figured that his father had only been there half a dozen times. Not that the lack of visits—especially since he'd moved here—particularly bothered him. In fact, he'd preferred that this visit wasn't happening, because whatever it was about, Kafei was sure it would give him a splitting headache.

"Hello Kafei… How have you been?" Ah, small talk. He mother avoided it like the plague, and his loved it more than anything.

"Oh, wonderful. You know how I _love_ having rumors about me spread across town. This, I'm sure, is exactly the reason you're here. Correct?"

"Well, somewhat…" Kafei honestly didn't think he'd ever met such an indecisive man in all his twenty-three years…

"Then say whatever it is that mother is forcing you to say so we can get this over with and go on with our lives." The older man sighed, obviously realizing that this was going to be harder than he'd hoped.

"It just…concerns us that every rumor that's been spread about you involves you being…" Kafei wasn't sure what was more amusing, the fact that he'd said "us" instead of "your mother," or the fact that he couldn't even say what they all knew the rumors were about.

"Gay, father, you can say it. It's only a three-letter word… I'm sure you've said worse things in your time." Had this have been about anything else, Kafei probably would have laughed at the look of discomfort on his father's face.

"Ah, yes, that… You must admit that it reflects poorly upon the family when people think—"

"That's what it's all about," Kafei cut him off with a sneer, "isn't it? You don't care how the rumors affect me or anyone else involved, do you? You just don't want people thinking that your son is gay, because that would reflect poorly on _you_. Or is it Mother? Perhaps _she's_ the only one who thinks that and _you're_ just too much of a coward to stand up to her? Well, am I getting close?"

"Don't be like that… I'm thinking about you and Anju. It isn't good for your reputation always to be the subject of such rumors. You'll be the mayor one day after all. And it can't be good for Anju to constant hear people gossiping about her husband being with other men…" As nice as that sounded, Kafei didn't believe a word of it.

"Well then, what do you suggest I do to stop these ugly rumors? Since getting married _obviously_ wasn't enough…" Mayor Dotour was fidgeting, which was never a good thing. Whatever his wife had forced him to say—since she'd already been kicked out of the inn once that week—it was coming up…

"Ah, you see, your mother wanted you to make that man move out, but I knew that wasn't the way to go…" Good, very good. "So I'd suggest having children." …And there was that headache, right above his right temple…

"I don't _want_ children…"

"You used to."

"I…" He couldn't explain it, not to his father… Not when he wasn't _entirely_ sure why himself. "Things change. I just don't want children anymore. Is that a crime?" The older man shook his head sadly, the gesture simply serving to irritate his son more.

"No, not as long as you have a good reason." '_But you don't, do you_?' went unsaid. "I won't keep you any longer… Just remember that you're my son and I'll always care for you no matter what you might think…" He turned to leave, but something about his words didn't settle right with Kafei…

"Wait; what do you mean?" He stopped, but didn't turn around.

"…If the rumors are just rumors, then you should try harder to stop them. But if they aren't… Then you should do something about it. It isn't fair to you, Anju, _or_ that man if you don't." And before Kafei could say anything more, he was out the door, leaving his son sitting at the counter with his jaw hanging open. Had his father just implied…?

'_What is that nutcase thinking? Maybe I don't love Anju and don't want to have children with her, but that doesn't mean I like Vaati that way… And I just met him a week ago! How could he **think** those things?_'

As he sat and brooded, he vaguely wondered if Vaati liked children.

* * *

"Oh, this one looks good, and this one too! That title is interesting…" Vaati wasn't sure what he found more amusing—the fact that Anju was so excited about books full of homosexual couples, or the fact that he felt just as excited as she was acting. Of course, he'd known he was gay for years, and she, well, she was obviously new to the idea.

"Anju, you do know that the handcuffs on the cover don't make it a crime novel, right?" She giggled and blushed, acting more like a teenage girl than a twenty-four year old woman. The fact that she was older than Kafei still amused him, though he'd yet to mention his amusement aloud.

"Oh yes, I know. These are a lot like my other romance novels after all, just with…more men." He laughed and picked another book off the shelf, scanning the back for anything interesting. Unlike Anju, he could afford to be a bit more choosey. After all, there was a good chance he'd fantasized a few of those scenarios… He'd never had a _serious_ attraction to anyone before he'd landed in Termina, but his mind had been good a creating a suitable Picori mate. But truthfully, he'd take Kafei over the faceless, nameless Picori any day… He just couldn't let anyone know.

"I haven't read much romance before, seeing as I spent most of my time studying, but I obviously don't have to worry about that now… Hmm, this one looks good." She looked at the book in his hands, reading the summery for herself. It seemed that it was about two men who fell in love despite their difference in class. A wizard and a shopkeeper. It seemed…oddly familiar.

"It does… Are you going to get it?" He smiled to himself, fully realizing the similarities that Anju hadn't quite understood.

"Yes, I think I will…"

They left the bookshop with three new books—the one Vaati had picked out, the one Anju had been looking at, and another they'd found that involved two princes from neighboring countries falling in love. All were technically Vaati's, but Anju was itching to read them. She was suddenly very glad that she'd accidentally wandered into the alternative romance section… But she still wanted to know why Vaati shared her enthusiasm.

They walked back to the inn in silence, both trying to ignore the whispers that came from every direction. From the bookshop owner shooting them odd looks to the gossiping old maids talking in not-so-quite tones, it was getting rather old. Anju wondered why Kafei hadn't set people straight yet; Vaati wondered why they didn't have better things to do than gossip all day.

"Vaati… Can I ask you something?" The sorcerer nodded, preferring to talk to the pleasant woman at his side than listen to the whispered scandals all around him… Even if he had a good idea that he wouldn't like the question.

"Of course." She was quiet for a few moments, wondering how to word the question her mind…

"Are you…gay?" She was flushed at the question, and though that was exactly the question he'd been dreading, he knew he couldn't lie to her…

"What makes you think that?" …But he could still get some information out of her.

"Well… I don't think many guys would want to read these books unless they were…" He was a bit surprised that his looks hadn't been brought up. Even though he looked different now than he had as a Picori, that had always been one of the first things the others would tease him about… And now his hair was even _longer_… But he supposed that Kafei not being _quite_ the epitome of masculinity had desensitized her.

"Perhaps… Would it bother you if I was?" Her eyes widened, and she shook her head vehemently.

"Oh, no no! That's fine with me… This'll sound really silly, but I went for years thinking the same thing about Kafei. I thought for sure he could never love me back… But it turns out I was wrong, huh? That's why I thought I better ask instead of just assume…" Well, he hadn't known _that_. What he didn't understand was _why_ everyone thought that. What had he done to make an entire _town_ question his sexuality?

"Well, you were right this time. Though… I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread it around. I had a lot of problems because of it back in my old home…" She smiled kindly and nodded, and somehow, he just knew that she wouldn't say anything. No… She wasn't like the other woman in town.

"Of course. It's not any of their business after all. I won't tell a soul. But… You might want to tell Kafei." He did his best to remain calm, but inside, his heart sped up. Tell Kafei… He'd certainly like too, but…

"Don't you think he might be…_uncomfortable_ knowing that with all the rumors going around?" She looked thoughtful for a moment before finally shaking her head.

"No," came her sincere answer. "He really likes you… I don't think he'd care about what a bunch of people he doesn't like think. He'd always been open-minded about these things… I'm sure nothing will change between you."

'_No_,' Vaati thought, a touch of melancholia shining through as they continued the walk in silence, '_I'm sure nothing at all would change… But I wish it would_.'

* * *

By the time they returned, Kafei was _still_ brooding. Without waiting for either of them to speak, he got up and walked to the kitchen, muttering something about starting dinner. Anju settled down at the counter to finish the day, and Vaati went to deposit his new books in his room. When he came back down, the redhead gestured towards the kitchen, as if to say, '_You should tell him_.' He nodded and quickly headed to the kitchen before his common sense convinced him this was a bad idea.

In the kitchen, Kafei had begun cooking, but it was obvious that he his mind wasn't on his task. His movements were automatic—possible only through years of practice and natural talent. Vaati didn't know what had happened while he and Anju were gone, but he was horribly curious… But for now, he had a mission.

"…I need to tell you something." Kafei made a noise that at least _sounded_ like a sign to go on, so he did. "It's the reason everyone hated me back when I was a Picori." That got the older man's attention, and he finally turned to face the sorcerer.

"Go on." Right now, Vaati felt like the small, pathetic little Picori he'd been most of his life. He wished that getting his human body and powers back could have given him all of the old confidence that had come with it… Just without the megalomania.

"Things were fine until my parents died. At the age of twelve, I lost everything and went to go live with a man my parents knew, but whom I'd never met in my life. But it wasn't that bad. He had lots of books and magical things that he promised he'd teach me when I was older and ready to handle them. I used to read the books a lot though, even if I didn't understand many of them.  
My favorite was a book the legend of how the humans and the Picori met though. It was said that the Picori helped a hero to save the world… And I thought that the hero sounded like the coolest guy ever.

"I was thirteen when I had the first dream. Me and the hero from the book shrunk to Picori size, holding hands. I didn't think much of it though, because I'd never had a crush in my life. But as the dreams got more…_detailed_, as teenager's dreams tend to do, I realized that I wasn't like the other boys my age. They liked to peak into girls' rooms while they were changing, and the thoughts of kissing a girl made me cringe, while doing more with another boy made me feel things I'd never felt before.

"I did my best to keep it to myself, but when I turned seventeen, the other boys started wondering why I never had a girlfriend. They accused me of being gay, and when I didn't deny it, they began using any excuse they could find to make my life a living hell. Between their constant berating and beatings and Master Ezlo's difficult lessons, I was a wreck… Even after he found out a year later, he wouldn't help me. He said that I had to learn to stand up for myself… And shortly after that, my sanity began waning until I eventually tried to take over the world. You've heard the rest, but… I suppose this is a roundabout way of telling you that I'm gay. I hope that isn't a problem…"

Kafei had listened intently to every word, his eyes growing wider with every passing second. Quite honestly, Vaati wasn't sure if his apparently shocked silence was a good thing or not… He really wished the other man would just _say_ something… But he didn't. Instead, Kafei crossed the kitchen and pulled the unsuspecting sorcerer into a fierce hug. Once Vaati got over his initial shock, he relaxed and loosely put his arms around Kafei's shoulders, enjoying the moment as much as he could.

"I'm sorry," Kafei whispered, his voice sounding like honey at such a close proximity. "You shouldn't have had to put up with that; you deserve so much better…" It seemed too good to be true, and Vaati half wondered if he was dreaming the entire thing. But there was no way those warm arms around him could be a dream, right?

"You've only known me for a week. How can you know? Maybe I _did_ deserve—"

"No!" Kafei cut him off firmly, leaving no room for argument. "That was long before you became a human. It's not something you can control, and certainly not something you should be hated for. That's not fair…" Vaati nodded in agreement, daring to lean into the taller man ever so slightly…

"No, it's not. But you know the cliché—life isn't fair."

"It should be though. You were brave enough to admit to it, and they should have respected that. I don't understand why people can't just accept those things…" Had Vaati not been distracted by the feeling of being held so closely—that feeling of warmth and security—he would have noticed how off that sounded… But nothing registered until that warmth was gently pushing him away. "I…need to finish dinner. But thank you for telling me."

"No problem…" Vaati was glad that Kafei was okay with it, but still… Now, after being in his arms, it was going to take a lot more to keep his attraction at bay… He hoped he could do it.

* * *

Nighttime was the calm after the storm—dinner was pleasant, and nothing was said about Vaati's sexuality nor the rumor circulating about Kafei. They all had their questions of course, but they could be kept for another day. Elain, as Vaati learned, ate in her room. After bringing the old woman her food, Anju came back with a message for the sorcerer—she wanted to talk with him soon. Remembering that Kafei had said she was a nice woman, Vaati agreed to visit her in the next few days.

Eventually, they all went to their rooms—Vaati was intent on reading, glad that he didn't have to try to hide the books from Kafei, and as for the married couple…

"Darling…" He _already_ disliked where this was going. "The last week, before you brought Vaati here… I asked you when you wanted to have children and you said you had to go do something important. Well, we're here now, so…when do you want to have children? I'm ready to have them whenever you are! I'm sure Vaati won't hear us…" Kafei did his best to hold down the feelings that arose from those words. He hated to think he was disgusted by it, but… He _was_. She was like his sister… Marrying her was one thing, but having sex with her was another.

"Anju…" He mentally cursed—nowhere to run this time. "I don't think now is the time for children… We have the in to run after all." Anju sighed as she tugged on her light blue nightgown absentmindedly.

"It's not like my mother couldn't help out while we adjust. Besides, we have Vaati working here now too. And we have plenty of room. Mom would definitely lend us some rupees if we needed any… What else is stopping us?" He had to think quickly—she'd countered every point he'd thought of before he'd even brought them up. Surely, there must be _something_ else he could tell her without bringing _that_ up…

"I… I'm sure you'd make a wonderful mother, but I don't think _I'd_ be a good father. You know how I am..." She didn't look at all convinced.

"Now you're just being paranoid. You'll make a great father. You're only like that around people you don't like, but I'm sure you'd love your own child. You're caring and understanding… And, you know… If we had a child, the rumors would probably stop once and for all." The rumors… The same rumors he'd been hearing since he was a teenager. The thoughts of finally being rid of them _were_ tempting, but…

"They wouldn't stop. They didn't stop when I married you. People would just explain it away again… They'll never stop unless they're proven true and thus are no longer rumors."

"Maybe," she admitted reluctantly, a frown on her pretty face, "but… They're not true, right? You can't be…" He laughed and smiled, though the sound was hollow and the smile didn't reach his eyes. She didn't notice either.

"Of course not. I did marry you after all." Then he held her close, silently apologizing to her for not telling the truth. He honestly wished that he knew what he was feeling…

* * *

Midnight, and he was having dreams quite unlike his usual ones. But these ones were pleasant dreams, dreams he welcomed, at least subconsciously…

'_You're beautiful…' Vaati giggled—even as a human he was cursed with that high pitch he'd always had—at the compliment._

'_You're one to talk… You're more handsome than I am.' Kafei smirked and pulled the sorcerer closer to him, their noses almost touching at the close proximity._

'_True… I'm handsome and you're beautiful. If we could have children, they'd be absolutely prefect.'_

'_Well, I don't think the world would be ready for such beauty, so perhaps it's good that we can't… But that doesn't mean we can't go through the motions, right?' The older man laughed softly, running his hands through long lavender hair._

'_Of course not…' Nothing more was said as Kafei closed the small gap between them, wasting no time in slipping his tongue into the awaiting mouth. Vaati moaned at the pleasant intrusion, wrapping his arms around the other man's neck and pressing their bodies closer._

_Kafei's hands roamed from Vaati's hips, first to the small of his back, then lower. He squeezed gently, earning a low groan from the smaller man. The sensual sound drove Kafei's hormones into overdrive, and he grinded their bodies together, the delicious friction making both men moan wantonly. Suddenly, Vaati broke the kiss, though he didn't pull away._

'_Kafei… I love you so much. Please, take me; make me yours. No one else ever has to know...' The words went right to Kafei's groin. Oh, how he wanted the beautiful man in his arms…_

'_I love you too. Come on; let's go to your room. I'll make you forget everything and everyone but me…'_

Kafei woke up with a gasp, quickly looking over to his slumbering wife. He was filled with relief that she hadn't woke up… Who knew what noises he might have been making? That dream, it had been so real, so intense, so… Wonderful.

'_I'm sorry Anju_,' he thought sadly as he quietly got up and headed to the bathroom to take care of his "problem," '_but **that's** why I can't have your children…_'


	7. Chapter 6

Kismet—Chapter Six

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: What's that? You want Kafei's back-story? You want some romance already? You want some wild hot smex? …Well, I might give you _some_ of that, but don't get greedy now… You'll just have to see what happens. Regardless, this is a turning point in the story… The first arc is done, and now begins the middle of the story. Hope everyone is enjoying this as much as I am! More people come into play, one of which I'll be surprised if anyone saw coming… And I'll say this now: I refuse to debate the way I interrupt events in the games. Consider part of this AU if you will, though it's not too big a deal… No clue what I'm going on about? You'll see…

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-15-07

* * *

Kafei woke up later than he usually did, mostly because the remembrance of his dreams had kept him up. It wasn't surprising to see that Anju was still asleep, and for that, he was glad. But he was, in fact, very surprised to see a note left on the front desk.

_Kafei—_

_I've gone into town for a bit. Don't worry; I'll be fine._

_Vaati_

And of course, he was worried nonetheless. Vaati only knew a few places in town, and Clock Town was quite big. He had very few rupees and knew even fewer townsfolk. What in the world could he be doing out there, especially without himself or Anju as a guide? He wasn't leaving without saying anything, was he?

'_Don't be stupid_,' he thought, trying to keep the inane feeling of dread out of the pit of his stomach. '_He wouldn't just leave like that, especially not before he's back to his full strength, or before he's earned any rupees. He just told me his greatest secret only yesterday after all… The Guardians must hate me to give me such horrid timing. If only I'd met him sooner… If only I wasn't such a coward and could just tell him my own secret_…'

Feeling more miserable than he had in a very long time—even factoring in his family and in-laws—he slumped against the counter and wallowed in his own self-pity.

* * *

It had taken Vaati almost an hour, but he was finally here. Wandering aimlessly around town hadn't work—it was so big!—nor had asking random people on the street. Everyone he talked to already knew who he was and accused him of stealing Kafei away from Anju. He supposed that his unnaturally colored skin, eyes, and hair made him stand out even when wearing the local fashion, thus why people who'd never even seen him knew who he was just by what they'd heard on the streets. Not that they were correct in their assumptions, but that hardly seemed to matter to them.

Then he'd stumbled upon the bookshop from the day before and decided to try his luck there. The woman who he'd met there the day before might have been suspicious—especially after his purchases—but obviously seeing him and Anju acting like friends in her shop made her think twice and actually give him directions. He'd thanked her profusely and immediately headed to his destination…

The Curiosity Shop.

If he was going to find the answered he wanted, this would be the place. That in mind, he walked to the front door and turned the handle… Only to find it locked. He groaned as he noticed that sign that said they wouldn't be open until later that night. Great, now he'd have find an excuse to sneak out later on, and—

"Hey kid, you ain't getting in there…" Vaati turned around only to see an older—older than him at any rate—man standing a few feet away.

"I realize this. I don't need to shop; I just need to talk to Tomo… He does own this shop, correct? Do you happen to know where I might find him?" The man looked him over carefully, head to toe, before nodding to himself.

"Good taste…" Before the bewildered sorcerer could ask what he was mumbling about, he grinned and walked closer. "You've already met him." Vaati's eyes widened in realization, and he stepped out of the way to allow Tomo to unlock the door. When the older man didn't close it behind himself, he took it as an invitation to follow. A quick look around proved that the items were indeed curious… And his keen magical sense felt that some of the merchandise was enchanted, most likely illegal, and most assuredly expensive. He might just shop here sometime after all…

"What can you tell me about Kafei?" But back to the point. He was here for answers, and he knew that this man could give them to him.

"Heh, I knew that's what you were here for…" Something clicked in Vaati's head—of course! This must have been where Kafei went the night he left them both so suddenly. Did that mean Kafei had already told him not to tell the curious sorcerer anything? That, of course, only had him even more suspicious… What was he hiding? "Kafei warned me that you'd probably come to find me sooner or later about all those crazy rumors flying around town, but he didn't think it'd be so soon. Oh well, might as well tell you what you want to know."

"Really?" Vaati asked, surprised by the answer. Tomo smirked, shrugging slightly.

"Sure, why not? Kafei might've told me not to, but it's really for his own good. You look like a decent guy, and he really needs someone like that… First tell me what you feel about him though." Vaati honestly didn't know how this man could surprise him so much in such a small amount of time… But for some reason, he trusted Tomo. His aura, it seemed…sincere. Besides, ninety-nine percent of the town thought it anyways…

"He's extremely handsome, kind, funny... To me at least. And it's hardly my concern how he treats others. I'm most certainly attracted to him, and I very well might be in love with him. If I knew what being in love was like, I could tell you…" Tomo chuckled as he leaned against the counter, shaking his head in amusement.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll know… Right now it sounds like you're well on your way, and that's good enough to get answers outta me. So, you've heard all the rumors about Kafei having affairs with both of us. You must wanna know why though, right?" The sorcerer nodded determinedly.

"Right."

"All right, I'll tell you what I know. It started when Kafei was pretty young, six if I remember right. He was playing with Anju up in her room, and big bad Riria caught them playing dress up in Anju's clothes. They'd even gotten into Riria's makeup and put it on. She'll swear up and down that was the moment she knew he was '_off_,' but he was just a kid then. No… It was when he was thirteen. I'd just opened the shop and Kafei used to come in since the Laundry Pool is right out back. He started gushing and blushing like a schoolgirl about some mysterious blond boy who'd traveled though town that morning. I'd guess that was his first crush, and about that time Riria's claims came true."

Vaati listened intently, hanging onto every word. Was Tomo saying that Kafei was like him? No, he couldn't be, he was married! His luck wasn't _that_ good…

"But not many people were buying into her gossip back then. I believed it of course, but only because not many boys blush when they talk about other boys. No, it wasn't until he was seventeen that he came out to me."

And there were the magic words. Kafei really _was_ like him! They've even gotten their first crushes and told people for the first time at the same ages! But how…? He was married after all! There must be more to the story… So he sat quietly and listened.

"Seems that kid had come through again. He was from some strange tribe and was passing back through after his last long mission, and Kafei actually had the nerve to talk to him before he left. Stayed in the Stock Pot Inn actually, so he had no trouble finding him. Turns out he was planning to '_fulfill his destiny'_ or something and wasn't gonna come back, and I guess it jolted Kafei enough to make him admit that he had a crush on him. Dunno what the other guy felt—lust, pity, mutual attraction—but one thing lead to another… And Kafei lost his virginity to a boy he knew was never gonna see again."

Vaati's throat tightened at the admission. He hardly could have expected Kafei to be a virgin, but it still made him jealous of this mystery boy, even if it _had_ been six years ago. Still, it was rather sad, considering he did something like that with someone he knew he'd never have more than one night with… He wondered if Kafei had loved him.

"So now you know that some of the rumors are real. But you must wanna know about him and me… He can't hold his liquor, the poor guy. It _does_ loosen him up though, so I kept his drinks coming, despite my better judgment. He had way more than he usually would, and it messed with his head. He started calling me that kid's name; guess he was still caught up on his first love. I tried to get him to leave, but he ended up kissing me right in the bar, in front of all those people… Then he passed out and I carried him home. Rumors flew the next day and Kafei couldn't remember a damn thing. Never asked either, just wanted to make sure we were still friends. I told him of course we were—I'm straight of course, but those things don't bother me. By the end of the week, he'd asked Anju to marry him. Poor girl. She loves him more than anything and doesn't even know how lonely he is…"

"Lonely?" Vaati questioned, still trying to get over those words, '_first love_.'

"Yeah. He's never gonna have that boy from his past and he's never gonna love Anju like she wants. And now he's found _you_, but he's already married and too damn nervous to tell you that he's falling for you." He smirked at the shocked look on the younger man's face. "What? You don't think I'd tell you all his dirty little secrets without a reason, do you? He'll never tell you if you don't bring it up first, but trust me on this. When he came in the other night and told me not to tell you anything, I could tell that he wanted you. Anju's still his best friend, and he's willing to keep her happy at his own expense. You need to convince him that it's for the best of all _three_ of you if he takes what he wants. But who knows, maybe you knowing is all it'll take to make him take a chance."

"But… Anju…" Tomo's smirk downgraded to a sad smile as he pushed himself from the countertop and sat down behind it instead.

"Anju's married to a guy that doesn't love her and never could. That's hardly fair to _her_, now is it?"

"Well, no…"

"Then go back to the inn, confront that thickheaded friend of mine, and work something out. You're both attracted to each other and I want to see him happy for once. Now get out my shop kid." Vaati smiled at this man's concern for his friend. His ideas were nice too.

"Of course… Thank you."

"You're welcome kid." And as Vaati left, his mind full of the new information he'd just learned, Tomo could only pray that Kafei wouldn't be stupid enough to let this kid go…

* * *

Kafei was cleaning up from breakfast when Vaati finally came back. All morning long he'd thought of nothing but that silky lavender hair, those blood-red eyes, that exotic looking skin and markings… He knew he had it bad, and he felt horrible about it. Just because Vaati had come out to him didn't mean… Besides, there was Anju to think of… And…

"Hello Kafei." He masked his surprise at the sudden voice well, not wanting to explain why he hadn't heard Vaati's footsteps.

"Good morning. I left you some breakfast on the sideboard. I can heat it up if you'd like." The sorcerer shook his head, looking anxious and all too excited. Where had he gone…?

"No, not right now. We have to talk first…" With a flick of his hand, chairs flew against the two doors in the room, moved by wind magic to keep the conversation private. Kafei's earlier feeling of unease was coming back. "I… I went to the Curiosity Shop." The dread was suddenly back, tenfold.

"What? You… _Why_? What did Tomo tell you? I told him to keep his mouth shut, that bastard…" Vaati ignored his cursing and continued.

"I wanted answers, and I knew he'd have them… These newest rumors concern me too you know, and I wanted to know why everyone thought you were homosexual despite your marriage to such a nice girl. Though I suppose they aren't all rumors, since some of them are true…" The dread was gone and replace with a horribly cold feeling.

"Please, just tell me what you know." Vaati stared at the floor for a few moments before he looked Kafei straight in the eyes, a newfound confidence taking over.

"Mostly everything I suppose. Your crossdressing incident at six, your first crush at thirteen, losing your virginity at seventeen, the incident in the bar… But know I have questions that only you can answer, and I want the truth. Understand?" Vaati no longer looked like a helpless young man, Kafei noted. Now he looked like the great sorcerer he claimed to be, full of confidence and practically radiating power. Somehow, he knew that despite being older and taller, Vaati could easily overpower him without breaking a sweat. It was…an exhilarating feeling.

"All right… What do you want to know?" Vaati nodded at the ease of his acceptance. The intense feeling in the air lessened, but it didn't vanish completely.

"First of all, I want to know what his name was and why he never came back." Kafei didn't even need to ask who '_he_' was.

"Sheik. He was from a clan called the Sheikah. He wasn't from around here… I think he might have even been from another dimension, like you. He never came back because he _couldn't_. He was… He was going to his death." Vaati's expression softened at his friend's sad tone. "He had to fulfill his duty to a princess he said, so that the world could be saved. That's why I think he must have been from another world… Maybe even the same one Link was from. When he told me that, I just couldn't stop myself… I offered myself to him and he took it. It was his last chance, and he said I was beautiful enough that he could have come to love me if he wasn't destined to die…"

"Did…" Vaati didn't want to press him when he looked so…_defeated_, but he needed to know… "Did you love him too?"

"I… I'm not sure. I don't think I _loved_ him, per se. If he'd stayed, _probably_, but I don't think I was quite to that point. Though I certainly thought it at the time." Vaati nodded, the feeling of jealousy he'd been holding in for so long finally subsiding.

"I see… Why didn't you want to know what happened at the bar? At first I'd thought it was because you were in denial, but now that I know that isn't the case…"

"I know," Kafei interrupted with a sigh. "There was really no doubt in my mind that I did kiss him, for whatever reason, but I thought that not knowing would make it easier to deny—to the others and to myself. Then I decided to marry Anju in hopes of stopping the rumors. At first I thought that going through the mask ceremony would make me love her, make me _change_, but somehow I always knew it was a lost cause. It was a horribly selfish thing to do, but I couldn't face everyone… Very few people would have understood. That's why I said you were brave not to lie… You did what I wish I'd done and five years younger than I was." Vaati flushed, partially at the compliment and partially because of what he was about to ask next…

"You called Tomo '_Sheik_' before you kissed him you know. That's why I thought maybe you loved him still…" Kafei nodded slowly, he'd always had a feeling… "Do I remind you of him?" He blinked, trying to figure out where _that_ question had come from.

"Of Sheik?" A hesitant nod was his answer. "No, not at all. He was quiet and serious all of the time. He had short blond hair, tan skin… But… He did have red eyes, just like yours. I think that's what drew me to him in the first place. But why do you ask?" Vaati suddenly diverted his gaze, looking much less confident than he had moments ago.

"…Tomo told me one other thing. I'd really rather hear it from you, but at the same time, I don't want to hear it at all… But I need to know, so…" He looked back up, and Kafei felt a lump form in his throat at the emotion he saw in those beautiful red eyes. "He said you were attracted to me. That you were falling fast and wanted me instead of Anju. Is… Is that true? I _need_ to know…"

Kafei froze, unable to say anything. Tomo… He'd kill the bastard. How the hell had he figured that out even before Kafei himself had?

"…I see, sorry. I'll leave you alone now…" Kafei snapped out of his daze and grabbed Vaati's wrist in his panic.

"No! Don't leave, I… I do; he's right. I didn't realize it completely until last night though. I hadn't felt anything even resembling love in six years and all of a sudden, I felt this attraction towards you, much stronger than I'd ever felt towards anyone. I already feel so close to you, like I've known you forever—I told you that. I just…didn't tell you that it was a deeper attraction than that. I still don't understand it, but… I think I might be falling in love with you. That scares me… I've never been in love. But my feelings for you are so strong that I'm almost positive that's what it must be… Why couldn't you have just made that hat five months earlier…?"

Vaati could barely believe his ears. This was…wonderful. And yet, it was awful too. Kafei was falling in love with him and—

"I'm falling in love with you too," he admitted, smiling when Kafei's eyes widened. "Hearing that makes everything I've gone through seem worthwhile, but… I promised myself I wouldn't try anything because of Anju…" He might have continued, had Kafei not drawn him into a firm hug. The feeling of those hands wrapped around his thin waist effectively shut him up.

"But that was before you knew how _I_ felt. If we both feel this way, why not give it a try? It might turn out to be nothing but a passing infatuation, or it could turn into love… No one needs to know Vaati. Just give me the word…" _No one needs to know_. Such nice words in theory, but how well would they hold up in practice? Especially when his wife lived under the same roof! Could he really ruin her happiness like that? …But could he really pass up this offer? Could he ruin both his _and_ Kafei's happiness?

"…Okay. We'll see what happens. But what will we do if someone finds out?" Kafei shrugged, wondering the same thing himself.

"We'll deal with it if the time comes. We'll just have to be careful until we figure this all out." No more words were spoken as they simply looked at each other, studying the other's features intensely at such a close proximity. Their breath on each other's faces, the sound of their soft breathing in each other's ears, their bodies pressed so close… Neither was sure who moved first, but the important thing was that the short distance between their lips was bridged, and they were sharing their first kiss. Vaati could feel his heart soaring—his first kiss, and with the man he was so close to loving. Kafei hadn't enjoyed a kiss this much since he was seventeen… And even now, he thought this one was better. Now he wasn't afraid of his partner dying in the near future.

Vaati's arms looped around Kafei's neck as the older man ran his tongue over his lips, for fear that his knees would buckle otherwise. He opened his mouth on instinct, moaning softly when an eager tongue entered his mouth. It gently probed his own tongue, coaxing it to come out and play. He hesitantly mimicked Kafei's movements, quickly catching on. Soon, Kafei's hands were slipping down…

"Guys, what are you doing in there?" They quickly broke apart as the doorknob rattled, the chair against the door being the only thing keeping Anju out. They smoothed down their clothes and hair before Vaati returned the chairs to the small table with a flick of his wrist.

"I'm just getting Vaati's breakfast reheated," Kafei called out, moving swiftly to appear to be doing just that. The doorknob turned again, and this time Anju was able to poke her head in. Seeing that everything looked normal, she smiled.

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to remind you that it's almost your shift…" He assured her that he'd be out soon and sighed as soon as she left. That was already a close call… Good thing Vaati had looked ahead…

"So… Breakfast then?" Vaati laughed, the beautiful high-pitched sound bringing a smile to Kafei's face. It was good to see things weren't going to become awkward as far as their friendship went…

"Sounds good." …Of course, they both knew that their friendship would never be the same again. And they were perfectly fine with that.

* * *

They didn't get another chance to talk in private—without fear of Anju hearing them—until late that night. After Anju fell asleep, Kafei slipped out of bed and quietly headed for the sorcerer's room. He entered without knocking, not wanting to draw attention to himself, and was met with the sight of Vaati sitting in bed and reading by soft lamplight. He looked so lovely… And whatever he was reading, it must have been interesting, because he hadn't even noticed that he had a visitor.

"What are you reading?" Vaati jumped at the sudden voice, and he couldn't help but smile at the revenge for earlier that day.

"I'm trying to finish the book Anju lent me. Of course, now the thoughts of two man having an affair while one is married hits much closer to home… What are you doing anyway? What if Anju wakes up…?" Kafei smiled as he walked over to the bed and sat next to his new… What _were_ they anyway?

"I'll tell her I couldn't sleep and noticed you were still awake. But she's a deep sleeper… So, would you prefer to read about that affair or _live_ it?" He tried not to think of Anju any further… As long as he disassociated her with this, maybe he wouldn't feel so guilty… Of course, it was hard to feel anything but pleasure when Vaati set the book aside, pushed him back on the bed, and was currently straddling his waist.

"Well, I'd rather live it of course. Now… Shall we continue where we left off this morning?" Kafei laughed softly at this turn of events. It seemed that Vaati wanted to share dominance in this newfound relationship… Sounded good to him.

"We shall." And nothing more was said that night until they said their goodnights a few hours later, after they thoroughly explored each other from the waist up. It was silently understood that they shouldn't move too fast, and that was fine with them. By the time Kafei left and entered his own room, he felt happier than he had in a long time—a nice change from that morning. Not even the sight of his wife could bring him down… For now at least.

'_Maybe the Guardians don't hate me after all… I just need to figure out what to do about Anju. I don't care what the others think about me anymore. I hate this place anyway… But she deserves better than that. We'll need to figure out something to do soon_…'

He slowly drifted to sleep then, a smile on his lips and Vaati filling his mind.


	8. Chapter 7

Kismet—Chapter Seven

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Here we are at the first full chapter with our favorite boys as a couple… Expect my romance muses to go wild. And every character that will be important should now have been introduced… Now they just all need to find out Kafei and Vaati's secret. Who will accept them? Who will freak out? You'll have to wait and see… Also, I might want to mention now that I'm not sure where I'll end this fic… I have two ending points in mind, one being much longer, but even with the shorter idea I'd guess it's only about half done. Lots still to deal with! So let's see what happens this time…

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-25-07

* * *

That morning, both men awoke feeling nothing short of wonderful—Vaati's dreams of his past had been replace with Kafei, and Kafei's dreams of Vaati no longer made him ache. Well, not ache in a _bad_ sense at least. Anju of course had no idea why her husband was in such good spirits, but she wasn't about to question it. Whatever had happened, she was extremely grateful! 

The morning only got better when Anju quickly announced that Cremia and Romani were due in today, and she was on her way to greet her friend to town. She promised to bring them to the inn once all of the deliveries were made, but Kafei told her to take her time. He and Vaati could handle things after all. Anju had quickly jumped on the offer, knowing that Cremia would want to see Kafei before she left, but wanting some "girls only" time too.

She left shortly after, telling them not to wait up, as they'd probably get lunch in town and not be back until close to dinnertime. The ranch girls would probably want to shop after all. Then, with a final warning not to forget her grandmother, they were left alone. All alone… Kafei wasted no time locking the door after her.

"But we open soon…" Kafei didn't bother to hide his smile when Vaati said _we_ instead of _you_. He was already feeling like he was a part of the inn's little family… Good. That made things easier.

"No one will come. Well, no one looking for a room at least, and I personally don't want any of the insufferable gossips in town finding us." He _did_ have a point… Vaati put up no more argument. And the fact that Kafei had pinned him to the wall and was ravaging his mouth was only partially to blame.

"As much…as I'd…like to…do this," he gasped out between kisses, "you have to…feed Elain…" Kafei moved his kisses from those tasty bruised lips and began trailing them down Vaati's neck instead, earning himself a lovely moan. Sure, the sorcerer was right, but surely she could wait, right? "She's old and—oh goddesses, Kafei!—we should eat too…" Kafei had released one of Vaati's wrists and slipped a hand up the sorcerer's shirt, causing that delicious gasp. Oh, Vaati was addicting…

"You're all I'm hungry for." The whispered words made Vaati shiver, but he forced himself to remember that they still had a job to do.

"We have all day and besides," he paused to moan as Kafei pinched one of his nipples, "I… I'm not ready…" Kafei finally came to his senses and stopped his ministrations, but he didn't pull away. That was right—Vaati was still a virgin. How far had he gone…? Probably not far considering everyone in his old village was afraid of or hated him. Regardless, he wasn't going to push Vaati into anything.

"All right, you win… Just tell me one thing, okay? How far have you gone? I know you said you were never in love, but did you ever experiment?" Vaati tried not to be distracted by the feeling of Kafei's weight on his body, his breath on his face, those lingering hands… Needless to say, it was very hard.

"No, never. No one wanted anything to do with me. I've only been…with myself." Sudden thoughts of Vaati touching himself drove Kafei wild, and he quickly brought the sorcerer into another deep kiss. He loved the way Vaati melted against his body, and he wanted _more_. He hadn't been with anyone since Sheik, and that was six years ago. But he remembered his promise and summoned all of his willpower to pull away.

"I hope you realize how much I want you, and how very hard it is not to drag you upstairs right now and ravage you senseless. But I'll wait until you're ready… If you ever want to go further than kissing, just say the word. All right?" Vaati nodded, fully realizing how much power he held at that admission. True, he could easily overpower the older man with his magic, but Kafei was leaving this up to him… His heart sped up at the feeling, and he knew that he this was worth all the deception they had to deal with.

"Okay… Thanks." Kafei smiled softy and pressed a light kiss to Vaati's lips before grabbing his hand.

"No problem. Now, for breakfast…"

* * *

It had seemed like a good idea, though Kafei hadn't shared his opinion. After breakfast had taken forever due to Kafei kissing him out of the blue every few minutes, Vaati had decided to take Elain her breakfast. Anju _had_ said that she wanted to talk to him… Why not right now? Kafei had said that someday when Anju was home would be better, but Vaati just rolled his eyes and told him to clean up while he was gone and then they'd eat together. They didn't want that to take an hour after all… 

So there Vaati was, standing in Elain's room and placing the breakfast tray before her. The old woman looked up at him and smiled pleasantly. That look… It reminded him of Anju. At that realization, any apprehension he had washed away.

"Hello Ms. Elain," he greeted with his own smile. "Kafei made breakfast. And… Anju said that you wanted to speak with me?" She nodded, ignoring the food for the moment.

"Hello dear. Anju's told me quite a bit about you… Kafei's taken quite the shine to you, hmm?" Vaati tried not to blush as he thought about exactly how deep that '_shine_' went…

"Y-yes, I suppose so…" She laughed, and even through it showed her age, it was still a jubilant sound.

"You suppose? Well, then what were those amorous sounds I heard after Anju left?" Vaati opened his mouth to reply, but no words would come out. She'd heard them? They'd only been together for a day and they were _already_ caught? He wasn't ready for this yet!

"I… We…" She held up her wrinkly hand to stop him, which he had no troubles doing.

"Now now, no sense in lying. If you have broken through Kafei's shell, then you must be very special. No one has been able to do that since that blond boy last came through town…" Blond boy… She must mean Sheik. But how did she know about that…? And as if he'd asked it aloud, she continued, "I was still able to move around a bit back then, so my room was upstairs. Right next to the room the boy was staying in, across from the stairs. The walls are quite thin you know… That day I knew that Riria was right, but it wasn't my place to say anything. It still isn't, so rest assured that I will not tell a soul. But do tell me one thing… What do you plan to do about my granddaughter?"

Oh, that was a good question.

"We haven't decided yet. We just started…_this_ yesterday. We want to see if it will last before we do anything drastic." She nodded, a contemplative look on her face. She didn't seem nearly as spacey as Kafei and Anju claimed her to be.

"I see… But then, even if it doesn't, Kafei will never love her. Tragic, but true. But you… You seem like just what Kafei needs. The fact that he's finally over that boy only strengthens that opinion. Just stay true to your heart… And remember that Anju loves Kafei. She'll do whatever it takes to keep him happy." Vaati let her words sink in. She was giving her blessing to their affair, even though it was at her granddaughter expense… Strange, but he wasn't about to question such good fortune.

"I will, thank you… Well, Kafei's waiting, so please enjoy your food." With a slight bow, he quickly left the room, his mind reeling from such a surreal discussion. Elain watched him leave, smiling to herself. She'd always known that Kafei and Anju weren't right for each other, and she just wanted her granddaughter and the man who was like her grandson to be happy. If this new boy would make Kafei happy, then she welcomed him. And as for Anju…

'_I hope she realizes what she wants before her heart gets broken…_'

* * *

Breakfast was a cross between eating and a Q and A—Vaati told everything that he'd heard, and Kafei asked _plenty_ of questions. By the time they were done with both of their tasks, they were just as confused as they'd been when they started. 

"I can't believe she knows… And she didn't even call me Tortus!" Vaati shook his head as he brought the dishes to the sink—they'd clean them…eventually.

"No, not once… I guess she's sharper than you and Anju give her credit for. Besides, she's not going to tell anyone, so I suppose it's okay." He paused at the sink, and though Kafei couldn't see it, he was biting his lip. "Tell me… Does the inn ever buy new beds?" Kafei, to his credit, managed to look only half as surprised at the question than he really was.

"No, they're the same ones we've always had. None of them have ever broken, so there's been no reason to… Why do you ask?" When Vaati finally turned around, after another pause, his normally pale face was even redder than his eyes.

"It's just that… Elain said that the room Sheik had stayed in was the one across from the stairs, and that's my room now, so that means I'm sleeping in the same bed you two…" He trailed off, and for a horrible moment, Kafei thought that he was upset or jealous or _both_. But the blush still on his pale cheeks seemed to indicate that he was just embarrassed. "You _are_ over him, right…?" Seconds later, Kafei was across the room and holding Vaati close.

"Of course I am. I was over him as soon as I met you…" Vaati laughed—it was more like a giggle, but he'd never admit it—and buried his flushed face into Kafei's shoulder.

"I think that's the sappiest thing I've ever heard in my entire life." Kafei smiled at the muffled response and pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head.

"Perhaps… But it's true." Kafei could _feel_ the smile on his shoulder.

"I'm glad…"

* * *

With the exception of a lunch break, a good remainder of the day was spent upstairs in Vaati's room. Kafei decided that spending the day making out was a good idea. Vaati had to agree with him. 

…At first at least.

"K-kafei," he gasped, quite out of breath, "I n-need to ask you s-something." Kafei pulled back from his assault on Vaati's lips—and neck, and collarbone, and chest—and gave him a puzzled look.

"Is something wrong?" Vaati shook his head slowly, allowing himself to regain at least a bit of his breath back.

"No, it's just… Everything is happening so fast. A little over a week ago I was a Picori—little, useless, and weak. Now I'm a sorcerer again, I have friends, I have _you_… And it's you that's the most confusing…" Kafei's puzzlement turned to concern, and he sat up, allowing Vaati to do the same.

"I thought we understood each other—"

"I did too, but Kafei… I've never been with anyone before and you _have_. I've screwed up so many things in my life, so what if I mess this up too? What if I can't live up to your expectations…?" Poor Kafei managed to stay silent for a moment, but before long, he just couldn't take it—he burst out laughing. Vaati, needless to say, wasn't impressed. "What's so damn funny?!"

"S-sorry," came the not at all apologetic-sounding reply, "but you're cute when you overact." Vaati wouldn't give him the satisfaction of making him blush, so he scowled instead. Kafei was undaunted. "Come on now, think about it. I haven't been with anyone since I was seventeen. And to reiterate, I was _seventeen_. I don't know how _you_ acted at that age, but I know that _I_ was far from being a romance guru." He paused and gently took the still scowling sorcerer into his arms. "It was only one night. Trust me; my expectations are far from being high. We'll just go with what feels right, okay?" The scowl slipped away as the soft words came. He wondered if Kafei was naturally skilled at sweet-talking his way out of things, but decided that he didn't really care.

"Okay… Then you're not just using me as a pretty face to project your desires of your lost love onto?" Kafei had to resist the urge to laugh again.

"No. I told you that I don't feel that way anymore. I'm interested in you now and _only_ you." Vaati relaxed at the affirmation, though now that his mind was eased, he felt rather foolish. So much for the confidence he'd found earlier… But he figured that he was allowed at least _some_ inner-angst, and instead threaded his fingers in Kafei's hair.

"All right, I believe you. Just one more question though… What exactly _are_ we?" Ah, just the question he wanted to know…

"Well, typically when two people share a mutual attraction and decide to pursue a relationship, that means they're dating. Thus, I suppose that makes us…boyfriends. I'm not sure if the fact that I'm married changes that…"

"Boyfriends," Vaati repeated, rather awed at the word. "After all this time, I finally have a boyfriend…" The question of how Kafei's marriage played into their relationship went unexplored as Vaati resumed their previous activities with a renewed vigor. Kafei gratefully accepted that decision. The less he thought of those things with Vaati, the less headaches he'd get.

…Therefore, it was rather unfortunate when a loud banging interrupted them.

Kafei growled at the interruption, reluctantly untangling himself from Vaati's embrace and getting up. He wondered which family member was coming to annoy him _now_. After all, it was far too early for Anju be back, and she _did_ have a key… No, it was most likely his mother or Riria coming back to yell at him. And quite frankly, he was in no mood for their antics.

"I'll be right back," he announced, his tone dripping irritation. "Stay here just in case. I'll be back as long as I yell at them…"

And then he was gone before Vaati could remind him to put his shirt back on. He sighed and flopped back on the bed, hoping that his boyfriend—his boyfriend!—at least remembered to smooth down his hair…

* * *

Every pound on the door made Kafei's eye twitch just that much more. Twenty-three years to finally find a guy he liked and their little time together was being interrupted by only the Guardians knew who! When he finally reached the door, he threw up the lock and flung it open. 

"What the hell do you—" And he came face to face with three shocked girls. "Ah, Anju. Welcome back. Hello Cremia, Romani. Come in." No one moved for a solid minute—Kafei was mortified, and the girls were all trying to figure out why he was missing his shirt and had hair that looked like he hadn't touched a brush in a month. Finally, it was Anju who spoke up.

"Dear… Why was the door locked? Weren't you watching the inn?" He thanked all higher powers for the easy question first.

"Ah, you see, my mother came by earlier and I locked the door to keep her out. I must have forgotten to unlock it… Did you forget your key?" She nodded, and for the first time, he was thankful that she was so absentminded.

"Yes, I must have left it in the bedroom. So, um… Where is your shirt?" He had to think, and think fast…

"I spilt some ink on it, and it's in the wash. You knocked just as I was changing." She accepted the answer, assuming that his mused hair came from the same incident. However, another redhead looked far more skeptical… Kafei was just lucky that Cremia kept her mouth shut.

"Oh, okay then. We'll let you get back to that then…" And that was all the prompting he needed to turn and flee back upstairs. He didn't stop until he was back in Vaati's room with the door shut and locked.

"The girls are back." Vaati quickly sat up on the bed, eyes wide.

"…What?!" The older man nodded as he picked up their shirts from the floor and tossed the sorcerer his. Vaati pulled his back on, while Kafei grabbed another one out of his wardrobe.

"I'm assuming they must have run out of money, or they would have been gone longer. I told them I spilled ink on my shirt, so I can't wear this again. You don't mind, do you?" Vaati shook his head, and Kafei gratefully put on the white and aubergine shirt, noting that other than the arm lengths, they were the same size. Though the sleeves were long on the petit sorcerer, they fit nicely on him. "Thank you. We'll both have to go down so you can meet Cremia and Romani. They won't know anything as long as we do something about our hair…"

Vaati was already one step ahead of him and was putting his hair back into order. When he was done, he threw it to Kafei, who gratefully accepted it. The sorcerer resisted the urge to laugh as Kafei worked at getting the snarls out of his hair. It was in much worse condition than his had been in… It looked like maybe he'd been a _bit_ too rough with it…

As soon as Kafei's hair was back to its normal perfection, he tossed the brush on the bed and held his hand out for Vaati, which he accepted with a smile. Vaati figured that they must have made quite the sight… They'd borrowed each other's clothes _and_ brushes…

'_If someone found out and didn't know I'm his boyfriend, they might think we're secretly girls…_'

They held hands until they were halfway down the staircase and the girls came into view. Vaati quickly noted that both of them looked very similar. He assumed that the older one was Cremia and the younger was…Ramini? Remona? …Romani, that was it. They looked pleasant enough… And if Kafei liked them, then they _must_ be good people. Though, the looks he was getting from Cremia were a _bit_ disconcerting…

"Cremia, Romani, this is Vaati. I trust that Anju told you about him?" Romani scampered over and shook an unsuspecting Vaati's hand, introducing herself and talking a mile a minute about her hobbies and life goals. And for a girl of only twelve, she certainly had a lot of them. Cremia stayed where she was though, still staring at him with that odd look on her face… It was rather unnerving.

"Cremia?" Anju noticed her friend's odd behavior too and snapped her out of her daze.

"Oh… Hello." Vaati looked to Kafei for help, but he could only shrug in reply. Whatever was up with her, he sure didn't know…

"Hello Cremia, hello Romani. It's nice to meet you both." The younger girl squealed at the attention from this young, handsome man, but Cremia's expression didn't change a bit. And between the Romani's moonstruck attitude and her sister's absolutely puzzling behavior, Kafei was getting a touch uneasy. He _was_ happy that Vaati was gay at least…

"Well, excuse us ladies, but Vaati and I should start dinner…" Without waiting for an answer—for fear that Romani would beg to help just to be close to the man who'd caught her fancy—he grabbed Vaati's wrist and quickly led him to the kitchen. Once there, behind the safety of closed doors, he let go of his wrist and instead threaded their fingers together. "I'm sorry about Cremia's behavior. I'm not sure what her problem is… As for Romani, well, I suppose I can't fault her for her taste in men…"

"You don't have to worry about her stealing me away at least… She's a bit too young after all." Kafei snorted and leaned in closer. If Vaati wanted to tease him, then he'd just have to shut him up… But when the doorknob rattled, he managed to stop himself. They pulled apart just in time for Cremia to walk in and shut the door loudly behind her. They both had a nagging feeling that this wasn't going to end well…

"All right boys," she announced, crossing her arms and glaring at them, "you have a lot of explaining to do." Despite the fear that filled his body, Kafei remained outwardly composed and shot her a confused look.

"I'm afraid that we have no idea what you're talking about…" She snorted and stalked up to him, poking him firmly in the chest.

"Don't give me that! Maybe Anju didn't notice, but I sure did! Locking the door, coming down dressed like that—"

"I already told you why!" She ignored his interruption as if he hadn't said a word.

"—him coming down with you, those hickeys on his neck… Do you think I'm stupid?" …Hickeys? They turned to each other hoping she wasn't right… Vaati was only half relieved to see that Kafei's skin looked fine. But judging by the look on his boyfriend's face, he wasn't so lucky…

"…You gave me _love bites_?" the indignant sorcerer hissed. "What in the world were you thinking?" Kafei shook his head, not believing that he hadn't noticed the bruises peaking out of the shirt's neckline earlier.

"I didn't _mean_ to!" Cremia stomped her foot, breaking up any argument that may have resulted.

"I hate to break up your little tiff, but you two have a hell of a lot to explain…" They shared a glance, identical looks of regret in their eyes. Only one day and two people already knew… But Cremia didn't look _nearly_ as accepting as Elain had.

"Okay," Kafei finally sighed. "But you might want to sit down. This could take a while…"

* * *

Cremia listened quietly as Kafei explained everything. His past, parts of Vaati's, how they felt a connection… And by the end of it, her expression hadn't changed once. 

"Well… It's about time!" Kafei blinked then looked over to Vaati, who could only shrug in response

"…What's about time?" She rolled her eyes, wondering why guys had to be so clueless sometimes.

"Honestly… It's about time you admitted it! I mean, come on, as if it wasn't obvious. Whenever that kid would come through, he'd be all you could talk about for weeks. Even Anju had her doubts until you married her…" Oh, Kafei felt a slight throb behind his left eye. Where to start…

"So, you're saying that you always thought I preferred guys, and Anju did too?" Cremia nodded, now looking quite pleased with herself.

"That's right. Even without Riria constantly ribbing on you, it wasn't hard to guess. You never had a girlfriend even with every girl in town's constant swooning. No straight guy could have ignored _that_. And since Anju always wanted you the most, she wondered why you never paid attention to girls the most… I don't think she changed her mind until you asked her to marry you. Though…" She paused and smirked. "I can see that she was still wrong."

"Yes, yes," Kafei sighed, glancing over to Vaati, who'd busied himself with cooking dinner when the interrogation had begun, "but what we really want to know is what you're going to do with this newfound information." She snorted and tipped her chair back—friend or not, he wished he could do that trick Vaati did to him the other day…

"Hey, I'm not about to go tell the whole town… It's none of their business anyway. The only other person who should know is Anju, and I'm guessing she hasn't found out about all this, right?" He diverted his gaze to the floor, and she had her answer. "Didn't think so… Kafei, you're still my friend, but Anju is too. I won't tell her, but really…_you should_."

"I know," he sighed again, "but what am I supposed to tell her? '_Sorry Anju, but I only love you as a sister and I'm having a relationship with Vaati now_'? Somehow, I doubt that will go over well."

"No," she agreed, "probably not. But you're cheating on your _wife_ Kafei. Even if you are gay, you still led her on. She has a right to know the truth, and I doubt there's _any_ gentle way to break it to her." He knew she was right. He knew he had to tell Anju no matter how hard it was. But he couldn't do it yet. There was still Vaati—the third part in their little love triangle—to think of after all. They had to talk things over before he did _anything_.

"No, I suppose there isn't… We'll tell her Cremia, I promise. Just…not right now. We need to come up with something first." She nodded, a sad smile playing on her face.

"Yeah, that's understandable. Just don't take too long, huh? After all, the quicker you set her free, the quicker she can find someone new."

Kafei didn't see the wistful look on her face, but Vaati noticed it out of the corner of his eye. What an interesting development… He'd have to bring it up once he and Kafei were alone. Maybe Cremia could be more help to them than at first glance…

* * *

Dinner was a simple affair. They ate and made small talk, and true to her word, Cremia didn't mention anything they'd talked about in the kitchen. The only thing of real interest was Romani's reaction when she learned that Vaati had cooked the food. She ended up eating four helpings on principle alone, making herself sick in the process. Cremia had only sighed and said it was probably for the best actually—now they had an excuse to stay the night. 

"And wouldn't it be great if we put Romani in a room and then you and me stayed in your room, like when we were kids? Like a slumber party! We'll kick Kafei out and he can stay with Vaati." Anju was so excited by the idea that she didn't even question why Kafei couldn't stay in one of the empty rooms, nor did she see the wink Cremia sent the men. Kafei was reminded why the redhead was one of his best friends, and Vaati decided that he liked her after all.

Shortly after dinner, Cremia went to put her sister to bed, leaving the eager couple alone with the unsuspecting wife. She sat quietly as they cleaned up, watching them closely. Even after almost a week and a half, it still amazed her how in sync they were. They didn't have to speak—they already seemed to know what the other was thinking, and it showed as they moved about with only small glances here and there. She tried not to be jealous, she really did…

But she was.

She knew she was jealous, if even a little. After all, she'd known him for almost two decades, and they'd never connected like _that_. It was as if they were closer than just friends, as if she was his friend and Vaati was…

'_No! I can't let mom get to me… She's never liked Kafei, and she'd say anything to get me to leave him… It's not fair to Vaati either. It's not his fault they get along so well… It's not anyone's fault. I can't be selfish!_'

"You okay Anju?" She jolted out of her thoughts by the sudden voice. She smiled up at Cremia, hoping that she hadn't looked _too_ troubled. She really didn't want to explain what she was feeling…

"I'm fine… Shall we go upstairs now?" Cremia nodded, knowing that her friend was far from fine, but letting it drop. If Anju wanted to talk, she'd talk.

"Sure thing. Have fine boys!" If Anju had been paying attention, she might have caught the teasing tone in Cremia's voice, noticed the blush on Vaati's face, or caught Kafei scowling at her… But for her sake, it was a good thing that she didn't.

* * *

With Romani in the room next to theirs and the others in the room after that, it was quickly decided that nothing too extreme should happen. They'd learned that day that Vaati was quite the loud moaner… And Kafei wasn't exactly the epitome of silence himself. But holding each other while snug in Vaati's bed? _Definitely_ doable. 

"…We need to decide what to tell Anju." It was just too bad they had to discuss such things.

"Do we _really_ have to?" Kafei asked, running his hand down Vaati's slender arm.

"Of course!" Vaati exclaimed. "With so many people already knowing, she's bound to figure it out eventually."

"That's right," Kafei agreed, "_eventually_. Elain and Cremia only know because we were careless. If we're more careful, she doesn't have to know until we want her to. Why have more people know than necessary?" Vaati agreed that it would be easier for them, but still…

"You heard what Cremia said though. The sooner she knows, the sooner she can move on. Why not let her find someone who can love her in return? Even if our relationship doesn't work out, you'll never want her like that…" Kafei sighed and stopped his ministrations, instead opting to pull Vaati closer into his embrace.

"Cremia was partially wrong you know. I noticed all of the girls fawning over me, I just didn't respond to them. I thought that if I ignored their advances, they'd eventually stop trying. It did work, for the most part, but Anju… I noticed her feelings immediately. We're best friends after all, and it was hard not to notice how flustered she'd get around me." He paused and twirled a lock of Vaati's long hair around his fingers, trying to decide how to word what he needed to say. "…She's felt this way for me since she was thirteen, and I was still twelve. That was before I even had an _idea_ as to what my sexuality might be. That's why I chose to marry her actually, because I knew that one of us should end up happy, and I'd already lost Sheik. So I married her so she'd have the life she always dreamed of… So I doubt she's going to get over me all that quickly."

Vaati didn't mention that he thought maybe there was someone close to them who might already love Anju and be just the one to ease her pain. After all, it was just a theory.

"Well, if you really don't want to tell her, we don't have to… But if we're going to be more careful, you'll have to learn to be quieter when we're making out." Kafei's twirling stopped as he tried to process that.

"…_I_ need to be quieter?" Vaati nodded, a look of perfect seriousness on his face.

"Oh, most certainly." He couldn't help but smirk after a few seconds though. "Therefore, I do believe we'll need to get as much practice in as we possibly can tonight."

"Oh, well I suppose I can't argue with _that_, now can I?" Vaati couldn't answer—not when Kafei pinned him to the bed moments later and reacquainted their mouths. So much for their earlier plans… Though they had to admit, this was _far_ more fun.


	9. Chapter 8

Kismet—Chapter Eight

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for yaoi and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Oh my, so much in this chapter… Angst, fluff, other…things. Call it my apology for making you wait so long. I put four big ideas from my "things to write in Kismet" list in this chapter, though one will be mostly featured in the _next_ chapter. It's right at the end after all… Hopefully my Picori is right. It's just backward Japanese, so if you can translate it, you should know what to expect next time. If not… Well, you'll just have to wait and see!

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 02-17-07

* * *

Romani was better in the morning, and the sisters left after breakfast to get back to their ranch. Cremia had taken them aside and made them promise to tell Anju soon…

Therefore, when a week went by and she returned with the new shipments just to find out they _hadn't_ done it, she was a bit upset.

"You bastard! You can't do this to her!" Sometimes Kafei wished bandits would stop her cart from coming to town more often…

"The time was never right…" She rolled her eyes in complete exasperation.

"Not the right time… What were you doing all week?" Vaati stayed silent as the two friends argued. What had they done all week? They'd made out like a pair of enamored teens whenever possible for the most part…

"We were working of course!" …Yeah, working at perfecting their kissing. Vaati could now successfully lick Kafei's tonsils.

"_Working_, I'm sure. Cause there are _so_ many customers this time of year, right?" As they bickered back and forth, the poor sleep-deprived sorcerer attempted to block them out. Stupid Kafei… Why'd he have to be so sexy and give him dreams that kept him up all night?

"Look, it isn't your business—"

"The hell it isn't! Anju's my best friend!"

"And she's mine too! Can't you see that I just can't come out and spring the news on her during dinner? The time has to be right."

"Well, when _will_ it be right?" Kafei paused, and the lack of their hushed argument caught Vaati's attention. He wondered the same thing himself…

"I…I don't know. Cremia, just try to understand. Anju is like my sister. I _do_ love her, just not romantically. If I'd thought that I'd ever find a man I was attracted to after Sheik, I'd never have started this charade. But I _didn't_ know that, and now I have to find out how to tell her and _not_ break her heart. Really, if you have any ideas, I'd _love_ to hear them." Cremia sighed, the noise sounding more discouraged than irritated.

"I don't know… I don't want her to hurt either, you know that. But don't you think that maybe…someone could…" He raised an eyebrow as she trailed off.

"Someone could what?" She turned around quickly, though, at his angle, Vaati could see the blush settled on her cheeks. His suspicions from the prior week were more or less confirmed. Now if only Kafei could figure it out…

"Nothing, just forget it. Look, I won't bug you about it anymore as long as you promise to find a way to make her happy when the truth comes out, okay?" Kafei nodded, the relief apparent on his face.

"Of course…"

"Good," she replied shortly, crossing the room to the door. "I'm taking her and Romani out to lunch and we'll be back by dinnertime. You better make the most of your time." Then she was out the door, leaving the men alone. Kafei didn't know what to think… Vaati was proud of himself for picking up this interesting piece of information before his boyfriend did, even though he barely knew Cremia.

'_Don't worry Kafei… Even if we **don't** think of anything, I'm sure Cremia will make Anju very happy on her own…_'

* * *

"…I have a question." Kafei raised an eyebrow, obviously wondering what Vaati could possibly need to know that was important enough to stop their kissing.

"All right… What?" The attempt at looking innocent failed, and Kafei could only hope whatever he asked wasn't _too_ bad…

"Well, I was just thinking about something Tomo told me last week… About Riria catching you in Anju's clothes when you were six. So, I was just wondering if perhaps you still made a habit of wearing woman's clothes…" Kafei's face then proceeded to do its best impression of a cherry tomato.

"_W-What_? Why would I…? No! I haven't done that since…" Now it was Vaati's turn to raise an eyebrow when his boyfriend trailed off.

"Since _when_?" Kafei's mumbled answer was probably too low for most people to hear, but luckily, the sorcerer's senses were far better tuned than most…or _unluckily_, if you were Kafei. "…Twenty-one? Only two years ago?"

"I was drunk… _Very_ drunk… It was Anju's fault for leaving me alone in her room while I was in such an intoxicated state…" Vaati didn't respond, as he was far too busy imagining Kafei in lacy lingerie. _Incredibly skimpy_ lacy lingerie. "…Vaati, what are you planning…?" He finally came to his sense after hearing his name, and an evil grin spread across his face. Kafei suddenly had no doubts that this man had indeed nearly taken over his world.

"Oh, you'll see…" And before Kafei could say a word, Vaati was dragging him upstairs and straight to his and Anju's room. He didn't even bother to try getting away—Vaati's grip was strong despite being so petit. "Huh… It's flowery." Kafei wasn't sure what to say to that.

"…Well, it _is_ Anju's room too after al—" The words died in his throat as Vaati pulled out a sheer black and purple teddy from Anju's drawers. It was the same one she bought for their honeymoon but had never worn because he'd said they should wait a while before doing anything that could potentially result in children. Honestly, he'd had no desire to see her in it, but _Vaati_ was another story…

"Hmm, it's your color… You should wear it." Kafei laughed at the very idea, imagining himself trying to squeeze in such a small thing.

"I might not be that large, but I'm certainly not that _small_ either. That'll never fit me…" '_And I'm not that **drunk** either_,' he added mentally. Vaati sighed as he looked down at the garment in his hands… Then he brightened up as he had an idea.

"Go to my room." Kafei blinked at his sudden commanding tone.

"What? Why?" The sorcerer only smirked and made wind whip around Kafei's head in response. "All right, all right…" He quickly left the room, knowing all too well what happened when Vaati decided to play with his powers… Once inside Vaati's room, he sat down on the bed and leaned against the headboard, wondering what his boyfriend was up to now…

He didn't have to wait long to find out.

"So? How do you like it?" …If he had been prone to getting nosebleeds, Kafei probably would have bled to death at the sight he was met with.

"What…? How…? _Why_?" That obviously wasn't the reaction he was looking for, because Vaati began pouting—oh guardians, he was _pouting_—and Kafei felt his senses slipping away. No one should be allowed to make that face while wearing those clothes… If you could really call them clothes. "I mean, yes. You look…stunning. But why…?"

"Because," Vaati replied with a smile, turning around slowly so that Kafei could see how the lingerie he'd been holding before clung in all the right places, "I noticed that the tags were still on it. Anju never wore it for you obviously, and I doubt you minded. But I didn't think you'd object to seeing _me_ in it." Kafei could only shake his head. No, no he most certainly did not. "Thought so. You certainly _look_ like you're enjoying it…"

"What are you—?" He stopped short when he noticed that Vaati's gaze was lower than his face. Looking down, he saw what he meant… The bulge in his pants was rather hard to miss. And at the sight of his boyfriend in that getup, it was getting quite painful. "Oh, yes… Well, I _am_ a man and you _are_ wearing lingerie… Getting such a reaction is generally what it's meant for…"

"You're right," Vaati agreed, walking over and crawling on the bed until he was inches away from the older man. "I suppose it would be rude of me to tease you, right?" As he said '_tease_,' he ran his fingers lightly over the bulge, and he was rewarded with a groan for his troubles.

"Don't," Kafei begged, too aroused to maintain his usual composure. "Please, if you do this, I can't… I don't want to hurt you…" Vaati smiled, repeating his earlier ministration and loving the way Kafei's eyes screwed shut at the sensations he hadn't felt from someone else in such a long time.

"I might have been evil, but I'm not _that_ cruel anymore… I know what I'm doing…somewhat. I might not be ready for that, but that doesn't mean I can't do something else for you…" Kafei didn't have to ask what he meant—the hand at the drawstring of his pants said everything. "If I do something wrong, just tell me…"

As it was, the only things out of Kafei's mouth for a while were moans.

* * *

"I feel bad," Kafei admitted once they were downstairs, fully dressed, and waiting for the girls to arrive, "that I didn't do anything in return…" Vaati shrugged in response, nuzzling his way deeper into Kafei's embrace. As much as he hated to admit it, he really liked cuddling. Of course, he'd zap someone if they ever mentioned it.

"It's all right. I took care of it when I was in the bathroom changing." Kafei frowned and shook his head, not knowing what was wrong with him…

"Honestly… If you have no problems pleasuring me, than why don't you want me to do the same? I can see not wanting to have sex yet, but if you're will to perform oral sex…" Vaati flushed ever so slightly at that. It was funny how hearing it was different from actually _doing_ it…

"I don't know… I guess I don't think I—"

"If you say _deserve it_," Kafei interrupted, his voice stern, "then powers or not, I _will_ hit you. You have nothing to atone for with me. Please, don't deny yourself for past deeds in another world. I care about you Vaati, and I'd like to show it…" Vaati's smile returned, and he twisted his body so that they were facing each other, their noses touching.

"Okay… Next time… But if I do say so, I must be pretty talented to make you scream like that…" Kafei snorted at promptly dumped the sorcerer off his lap. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Oh, just a little revenge for pushing me over so many times in the past few weeks, you arrogant little brat." Vaati was about to tip him over _again_, when the doorknob opened and in walked three girls. Kafei smirked down at the sorcerer, knowing he wouldn't do anything in front of them. Vaati frowned as he mouthed that it wasn't over yet…

"Oh Vaati! Why are you on the floor?!" Romani rushed over and helped the older man to his feet, for which he thanked her. She blushed at the sentiment as well as the physical contact, and he couldn't help but feel bad for her… She really should look for a boy her own age…who wasn't gay.

"Come on Romani, let Vaati go so he can go help Kafei cook. I'm starving…" The girl reluctantly let go of his hand, a pout finding its way to her face.

"Kafei always used to cook by himself… I don't see why Vaati can't spend time with _us_ instead…" And what to say to that? Kafei, Vaati, and Cremia all knew very well that it was the "alone time" that mattered to them and their budding relationship. But they couldn't very well tell her _that_… Luckily, it was Anju who came to their rescue.

"Kafei and Vaati are very good friends and they like to be alone so they can talk about boy things. You understand, don't you?" Romani nodded, but she was still pouting nonetheless.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Anju smiled down at her and then turned her attention to her husband. "You look awfully happy dear. What were you two doing before we got back?" Kafei almost laughed, but he managed to catch himself and will away any blushes that threatened to creep up. Especially considering that Vaati—who quickly hung his head to make it less noticeable—was blushing enough for the _both_ of them…

"Oh, we were just…talking. Yes, just talking, that's all, talking…" His flustered answer didn't go unnoticed by any of them. But whereas Anju and Romani looked confused, Cremia's eyes widened. Oh, he could only imagine what she was thinking…

"Oh, all right then… Um, the girls and I will be in the dining room if you need us…" Rather then say anything to further damage themselves, they quickly headed to the kitchen without another word. Cremia watched them go, wondering if they'd done what she _thought_ they'd done…

* * *

"This isn't working…" Vaati sighed as he wearily slumped in a chair. Kafei's expression turned panicked at those words.

"What? Why not? Vaati, please, don't—" It was rather unnerving seeing Kafei—who was usually so calm and composed—acting like that. Therefore, Vaati quickly decided to shut him up. Getting up and kissing him seemed like as good an idea as any.

"I didn't mean about _us_," Vaati clarified as he pulled back from the quick kiss, pleased to see the older man visibly relax. "I meant about keeping our relationship a secret. Two people already know, and who knows how long it will be before others find out who _aren't_ okay with it… Just because we've been lucky so far doesn't mean it will last forever. I mean, today we… We've finally gotten intimate, even if we didn't actually have sex. I'm assuming that Anju's never done that to you, right?"

"Of course not…" He nodded knowingly; he'd thought as much.

"She's not stupid; she must realize that there's a reason you've been married so long without ever consummating it. Maybe she already suspects us… Maybe Cremia is right. It'd be easier to just tell her and hope for the best…" Kafei was silent for a moment before he shook his head vehemently, a determined look on his face.

"No… No, we can't. It's not that easy…" Vaati sighed and ran his fingers down Kafei's arm, stopping when he could lace their fingers together.

"I've heard your arguments before, and I don't think we have to worry that much. I think Anju would understand and—"

"I said no!" Kafei hissed, yanking his hand from the sorcerer's, effectively jumping the younger man. "You don't understand! Anju's my best friend and I can't hurt her by letting her know that—"

"That what?" Vaati interrupted, fixing Kafei with a piercing stare. "That you're gay? Do you think she'd care with the obvious interest she has in those books? Or that you're with _me_? That's it, isn't it? I'm just some insignificant, pathetic little sorcerer who isn't good enough for you to come out for, isn't that right? Well, fine than. You can just let Anju think you love her and never let her be happy. And _you_ can just stay unhappy with her for all I care!"

Before Kafei could retort, Vaati was out the kitchen door and stomping up the stairs. The resulting door being slammed was only fitting. Kafei stood frozen for a few moments before he scowled and started stalking around the kitchen angrily. If Vaati wanted to be an insecure little brat, then that was fine with him. He still had dinner to cook for everyone else though…

* * *

Vaati lay dejectedly on his bed, clutching his pillow to his chest and holding back tears. No, he wouldn't cry anymore, he'd promised himself that after Link had defeated him… But it was hard. He and Kafei had had their first real fight… And it was all his fault. He never should have pushed him…

The fact that this was the same bed that had brought them closer just a few hours before didn't make things any easier.

"Hey Vaati, can I come in?" He sniffed and wiped at his watery eyes, wondering what _she_ wanted…

"S-sure…" Cremia took the shaky confirmation and entered the room, shutting the door behind her. Seeing Vaati near tears only confirmed her suspicions.

"I figured you two had a fight after I heard Kafei banging stuff around in the kitchen and no moans came afterwards. Wanna talk about it? It usually helps, especially with as much of a jerk as Kafei can be…" Vaati sighed and took a shaky breath to calm his nerves. It certainly couldn't hurt…

"I was trying to convince him that we should tell Anju like you said, since I doubt she'd tell anyone, then we wouldn't have to hide, and she could be with you, and…"

"Wait, wait, back up. You told him _what_?" Vaati managed to smile at her flushed face.

"Well, I didn't tell him _that_ part, but it wasn't hard to figure out. I can only assume that he hasn't noticed because you've all been friends for so long…" Cremia moved to sit on the bed, but stopped herself inches before she touched it.

"Hey… You guys had sex today, didn't you?" Vaati didn't feel so bad been his cheeks began to burn yet again. At least he wasn't alone this time.

"Kind of… Oral at least." She took that as a close enough answer and sat down in a nearby chair instead.

"Okay, so you figured it out. I'm kinda glad… You're the only person who knows. I've loved Anju for so long, and it hurt to see her mooning over Kafei, who obviously wasn't interested. When I heard Kafei asked her to marry him, I was crushed. Everyone thought I was jealous because I wanted him to myself, but it was really Anju… So I'd be lying it I said I was upset that Kafei likes you instead of her. That's a blessing actually. I just don't want her hurt in the process… So, uh, thanks for trying to make him see the light. Sorry he's such a stubborn jerk though. Guess this is the first time you've fought, huh?"

"More or less…" She nodded, having figured that. Kafei hadn't started yelling, so he couldn't be _that_ mad… But if they'd never fought, Vaati wouldn't know that… And that alone showed how much Kafei must care about him.

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure you'll have made up by the night is through." Vaati sighed and hugged the pillow closer. He could only hope she was right…

* * *

Dinner started as a tense affair. Vaati wouldn't look at Kafei. Kafei wouldn't look at Vaati. Cremia kept looking between the both of them. Anju wondered what was going on. Romani didn't really care. Grown-ups were weird anyway.

Vaati wouldn't look at Kafei because, despite what Cremia said, he still thought it was his fault that they'd argued. However, little did he know that was more or less what Kafei thought now too. He'd had plenty of time to reflect upon his actions, as well as Vaati's… And he came to the conclusion that he was a royal, grade-A bastard.

After all, Vaati was just trying to look out for Anju, while still trying to make them happy too. And he knew that his Picori-turned-human boyfriend had self-esteem issues… Letting him leave while thinking that he thought Vaati was pathetic and whatnot was _hardly_ productive. He knew he had to apologize, but unfortunately, he was horrible at it. He usually just let people stay mad at him—they'd get over it when they needed something. But Vaati was different. Vaati deserved an apology. A _really_ good one. But _what_…?

As he racked his brain, he was jolted out of his thoughts by a sharp kick to his shins. Vaati, who was across from him, was staring at his plate as he pushed the food around with his fork, so it was doubtful it was him, but considering Cremia was glaring at him… He figured it was safe to assume she'd done it. He gave her a look that clearly asked, "What the hell was that for?" To which she sent her on look back that said, "Stop being a stubborn idiot and make him feel better already you jerk!"

It was amazing how knowing someone for so long allowed you to have detailed conversations without making a sound.

Kafei turned away from her and fixed his gaze to the man across from him, who looked like his cat had just died. He knew all couples were supposed to fight, but never before had a fight made him feel so guilty… No, he knew he had to make it up to Vaati, and soon, for both their sakes. And the pain in his shin gave him a good idea for an icebreaker…

Vaati didn't feel much like eating, truth be told. He knew he was oversensitive and whatnot, but he really cared for Kafei. Kafei made him happier than he'd ever been and the thought that his happiness was just out of his reach was nothing sort of depressing. And the worst part was that he didn't even know what to do about it… He didn't even want to _look_ at Kafei for fear that he'd still look angry with him.

'_I'm being pathetic again… Just like the Picori I used to be. How can Kafei give me so much confidence and then take it all away again so easily? Does that mean…maybe…that I'm_—' His train of thought never finished, as the feeling of a foot was suddenly on his leg. Not a kick, but…running up and down his leg. He'd seen some guys do it with their girlfriends before, though he'd never understood the point… '…_Wait_.'

He finally looked up at his boyfriend, only to see him calmly eating. But there was a slight smile on his lips… Once he realized that he had Vaati's attention, Kafei looked up and smiled broader, giving the sorcerer no doubt as to who was playing footsies with him.

"Something wrong Vaati?" The '_wrong_' was accompanied by his foot reaching Vaati's thigh.

"N-no," he replied as the foot teased the skin right beside where Vaati simultaneously wanted and didn't want it to go. "I'm fine…" Kafei nodded and went back to eating, but he didn't stop him ministrations. Vaati tried to do the same, but it was hard to concentrate on doing _anything_ when that damned foot was right next to his—

"Are you sure you're all right?" Anju spoke up, worry written on her face. "You're awfully flushed…" Kafei hid his smirk by taking a drink, and Cremia rolled her eyes. As much as she'd wanted Kafei to make Vaati feel better, this was hardly what she'd had in mind… But as long as they didn't get caught and corrupt her poor little sister, she'd let it all play out… It was rather amusing after all.

"I'm o-okay," Vaati insisted, even if it was clearly apparent that he was not. Oh, he was going to kill Kafei. Slowly and painfully. Then he'd find a way to resurrect him and ravage him like it was going out of style… No, no, he couldn't do that; he didn't know how to raise the dead. He'd just have to use all of his willpower and… And…

"Eeei!" The strange yell-slash-squeak that came from the sorcerer turned all eyes on him. But Vaati could only stare at the table, his eyes wide and breathing heavy as Kafei's foot caressed him in ways he'd never experienced. It felt wonderful, divine even, but… They had an audience dammit!

"Ahh!" The crackle of magic in the air was audible and it wasn't much of a surprise to Kafei when he ended up on his back with his chair flipped over. He'd known it was a possibility, but it was one he'd been willing to take. And besides, with three pairs of eyes focused on him, it gave his boyfriend a chance to run from the room without anyone noticing his very apparent problem.

"…Kafei, honey, are _you_ all right?" He laughed at the entire situation. He'd just been bold enough to do that in front of his wife, his friend, and a child… He was either sick or completely insane. Both probably.

"Don't worry about me. I think Vaati might be catching a bug though, so I'll go check on him." He was gone before Anju could even think of arguing. Of course, she was much too confused to do so in the first place.

"Cremia… I think I missed something." Cremia shrugged, but inwardly she cackled. If only she knew…

* * *

"So… Am I forgiven?" Vaati glared up at his boyfriend as he came into his room.

"You jerk, there were other people around, and you were… You were…"

"Giving you a footjob?" The glare intensified.

"I didn't even know that was a word… But yes. And if you think sexual favors will make me forgive you, you underestimate me." Of course, despite all of his earlier inner-angst, if Kafei thought it was _his_ fault, Vaati would let him. Kafei sighed and locked the door behind himself before sitting on the bed and pulling Vaati into his arms. He was met with no complaints.

"You're right, and I'm truly sorry. You were right before, but I'm just not ready to tell Anju. It has nothing to do with being ashamed of you, I promise. If you only knew what the girls in town were saying about you, you'd know that there's nothing more I'd love to do then tell them you're mine and that they're too late. But for now, please just let me think of the right way to tell her. I promise it won't be much longer." Vaati was silent for a few moments before nodding. He supposed a while longer wouldn't hurt Anju _or_ Cremia…

"All right. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have overreacted…"

"Don't apologize; it's not your fault… Now, can I start what I finished downstairs? Or, perhaps you'd prefer if I returned the favor from this morning?" Vaati could only nod as Kafei laid him back and deftly undid his belt. He just hoped he could be quiet enough…

* * *

"Kafei? Cremia and Romani are spending the night, and Cremia wants to have a girls-only night again. You don't mind staying with Vaati do you? If he's still sick there's always one of the guest rooms…" Kafei didn't stop playing with Vaati's silky hair when Anju's voice came from the other side of the door a few hours later. They were both lying down with only their pajama pants on, Vaati securely against his chest in a warm embrace.

"That's fine, and Vaati's feeling better now, so I'll stay with him. Goodnight." Vaati didn't say anything, though he did snort softly when Kafei said he was feeling better. What an understatement…

"All right. Goodnight dearest." When they couldn't hear her footsteps anymore, Vaati turned himself around so that he could look Kafei in the face without breaking contact.

"You know, as afraid as I was at first, Cremia has certainly helped our '_alone time_.'" Kafei nodded and placed a soft kiss to Vaati's lips, simply because he could. It was a nice feeling.

"Agreed. We'll have to thank her later… For now though, I have an idea that will put our mouths to much better use…" Vaati laughed and pressed their mouths together without another word, automatically parting his lips to allow Kafei's tongue entrance. It was strange, having the knowledge of another person's mouth—their tongue, teeth, every little bump—but he liked it. He liked everything about Kafei, faults and all. He couldn't even begin to imagine life without him anymore… This was the feeling he'd been waiting for all his life.

"Sude kisu…" he murmured when they pulled away for breathe. Kafei was puzzled by the odd words, but he wasn't able to question their meaning as Vaati's lips were back on his and lithe fingers were running down his chest. He'd just have to ask later he supposed…

Because like he'd said, they had better things to do than talk right now. Cremia's gift to them couldn't be wasted after all.


	10. Chapter 9

Kismet—Chapter Nine

by taitofan

Rated R for yaoi, sexual content, hits of yuri, and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: First off, I apologize for the wait. My last semester of college was hellish, and I had personal issues with my own love life… But now I'm back, and hopefully there won't be another four month wait. Next is the warning. This if officially bumped up to an R rating. There's still no sex worse than oral, but, well, there's more sex than I can get away with on PG-13. Now, if you wonder why most of this is taking place when Cremia is there lately, well, it's because more can happen that way. Don't worry, we're just about done with the time skips. Why? Because some very important things happen in this chapter…and I don't just mean the things that cause the rating to go up to R either. Things just keep getting more and more complicated… And I apologize upfront for any butchering of the Picori language.

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 06-01-07

* * *

"Vaati, it's time to get up…" Kafei sighed as his fifth attempt to wake Vaati up failed. He had no idea why he was so tired… They hadn't stayed up that late after all. "You lazy little thing…" His only response was a soft snore. 

'_I suppose I could just let him sleep until everyone else is up… But, then again, I can think of a why that's __**sure**__ to wake him up_…'

He smirked in a manner that was nothing short of evil and moved down to the end of the bed. The covers were pushed aside, but still, Vaati slept on. Kafei carefully pulled the slumbering sorcerer's pajama pants down past his narrow hips, but still there was no change.

"So that's why you didn't want to wake up," Kafei laughed softly at the sight he was met with. "I hope you're dreaming of me." He lowered his head and took the tip of Vaati's erect member in his mouth, giving it a small suck. Vaati moaned lightly in his sleep, but still didn't awaken. Kafei wasn't done yet though—he took more in and hummed. The vibration made the moans louder, but he still wasn't awake… So Kafei took in as much as he could and sucked hard.

That worked a little _too_ well.

"Kafei!" He quickly pulled away and clamped his hand over his now fully awake boyfriend's mouth.

"Shhh, the others are still asleep… We don't want to wake them, now do we?" Vaati, who had jolted awake in a way that could only be described as pleasurable, was far too aroused to be angry.

"N-No, just go back to doing that…" Kafei thought back to all of the times he'd landed on the floor due to a certain someone's control over the wind…and decided it was a good time for a bit of revenge.

"_That_? I'm sorry, but I don't have any idea what you mean…" Vaati glared down at him, but the lusty gleam in his eyes hardly made him appear intimidating.

"Bastard… I want you to…keep sucking me. You _know_ that…" Kafei chuckled and pulled Vaati's pants down further before he lowered himself again.

"That's all I wanted to hear…" Vaati bit his lip as Kafei's mouth engulfed his erection again, this time with a new vigor. This was dangerous, what with the girls being just a few rooms down and whatnot. But at the same time, the danger made it exciting. And besides, at that point Anju could have waltzed in and he wouldn't have cared.

"Oh goddess, that's so good, don't stop!" The whispered pleas drove Kafei wild. With hooded eyes, he watched his boyfriend writhe under his ministrations, and it was nothing short of beautiful. He didn't know what he'd done to be blessed with such a divine being in his life, but he certainly wasn't about to question his luck. "Oh Kafei, _please_…"

Being the kind boyfriend he was, Kafei brought one hand up to fondle Vaati's testicles, after he'd found out the night before that the sorcerer was just sensitive enough to enjoy the sensation. His other hand slipped down his own pants and began to pump his own erection. He wasn't going to last long; he knew he wouldn't. And judging by the way Vaati was squirming and moaning, he wouldn't either.

"Oh Kafei… Ttomo… Iganeo! Su-Sude kisu!" There was that strange language again… But it sounded so exotic that he doubled his efforts just to hear his beautiful voice more. "Yo…yo kui!" Seconds after that breathy declaration—whatever it meant—Kafei felt Vaati spasm as his orgasm hit him. He kept sucking until Vaati rode out the waves of pleasure, loving the way his body glistened as he threw his head back. That was enough to throw him over the edge himself, and he came with a muffled moan.

Once he regained his ability to think, he crawled back up to where his boyfriend lay and held him close. They were sticky and needed to wash up, but the afterglow was so nice… And besides, Kafei had a question that needed answering.

"Those things you were saying… What were they?" Vaati, who wished that he could wake up to that _every_ morning, raised an eyebrow as the bathed in Kafei's warmth.

"Things? What things?" Kafei had wondered if Vaati had even known he was doing it… And now it seemed that he had his answer.

"Last night you said something in another language, and you did it again just a few minutes ago. Today you repeated the thing you said last night… Sooday keysoo or something like that…" Vaati was silent for a few minutes, leading Kafei to wonder what exactly he'd been saying… He certainly hoped it wasn't anything bad…

"Sude kisu you mean?" Kafei nodded, and Vaati sighed heavily. "I must have been slipping into Picori when I've been…aroused. Sude kisu means… Well… It means I love you." Kafei's eyes widened and he quickly sat up, bringing Vaati with him.

"Do you mean that…?" Vaati bit his lip as Kafei keep their gazes glued together, as if he was searching for the answer deep within his red irises. It all seemed too soon, but then again, it was so perfect… So why lie?

"Of course I do. I love you so much… I hate having to hide our relationship and I hate the way you make me feel so vulnerable, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. I want to be with you forever… I've never felt this way for anyone before, but if this isn't love, then I honestly don't know what is…" Kafei's face broke out into a smile as Vaati's declaration went on, and when it was finished, he wrapped his arms around the pale form and held him close.

"Oh Vaati… I love you too. I never thought I could, but you're so different from everyone else I've even met. I can't even imagine how miserable I'd be if you'd never come here. No one has ever made me feel this way… You got an apology out of me after all—that _must_ be love." Vaati laughed and pulled back enough to press their lips together in a lazy kiss. He had a boyfriend, they had a growing intimate relationship, and they were in love...

He didn't think life could get much better than it was at that moment.

* * *

Two weeks after they'd confessed their love, things were going wonderfully for Kafei and Vaati. Cremia was still coming every week to spend time with Anju, even letting Romani try her hand at watching the ranch by herself one week so she could stay longer, but the younger girl had decided she didn't like staying alone when her sister got to be so close to Vaati…

"Maybe I should tell Romani that I'm gay…" Kafei didn't bother to look up from the vegetable he was cutting as his lover rushed into the kitchen. Romani _had_ been particularly moonstruck that day…

"She'll be gone tomorrow and you won't see her for another week. I don't think one day a week will kill you." The sorcerer walked over and wrapped his arms around Kafei's waist, resting his chin on the older man's shoulder. Cremia had just fulfilled her duty by getting Anju and Romani out of the house, and since the only other person left already knew about them, he wasn't worried about anyone seeing them.

"It's not that… I don't mind the attention, I just don't want to hurt her… Her crush on me is painfully obvious, and though she's only twelve, her feelings are real enough to her. I'd hate to let her go for years feeling that way only to find out it can never happen…" Kafei's chopping stopped as he processed Vaati's words, causing the sorcerer to wonder what was wrong.

"…You plan on staying around for years?"

"Of course," Vaati replied, furrowing his brow at the strange question. "At this point, the hardest part will be keeping our relationship a secret. With our luck, we'll be lucky if the whole town doesn't know by the end of the year…" He paused as a thought occurred to him. "…You didn't think I was lying about wanting to be with you forever, did you?"

When no answer came, Vaati sighed and tightened his grip on Kafei's waist. Honestly, being insecure was _his_ job. Kafei was supposed to be the leave the hormonal, angst-ridden thinking to him…

"I've never told anyone else that I love them before, because I never have. It isn't something I throw around lightly. I _love_ you Kafei, and when I say forever, forever's what I mean. Is that really so hard to believe?" Kafei put down the knife and turned around, making it so _he_ was now the one holding _Vaati_.

"No, no it's not. I'm sorry, I just… I'm still not used to being in love with someone. Even being attracted to you was strange at first. In a good way of course, but still…" He trailed off and shook his head before smiling at the smaller man in his arms. "I want to be with you forever too, as long as you think you can put up with my occasional bouts of idiocy." Vaati giggled in his typical high pitch, the sound making Kafei's smile widen.

"_Occasional_?" Even the jab at him couldn't bring Kafei down. He merely nipped at one of Vaati's pointed ears, smirking when he shivered in delight. That was one of the more interesting things he'd leaned in the past two weeks…

"Little brat…" Recovering from the small assault on his ear, Vaati decided to prove Kafei right by sticking out his tongue childishly. It took every ounce of willpower the older man possessed not to take that as an invitation… He still had things to do before the girls got back though, and finding them in any compromising positions wasn't exactly ideal.

"You've called me that a few times since I've come here… Is it your pet name for me or something?" Though Vaati had been joking, Kafei paused thoughtfully. Was it? He'd never really thought about it… Vaati _was_ a brat, so probably not. But maybe he should give him one.

"No, I'm just telling the truth…" The sudden gust of wind that ruffled his hair accompanied the glare Vaati was shooting him. Sometimes he wondered if he could control it subconsciously… That night at the dinner table a few weeks back, the wind had seemingly come in response to Vaati's emotions… It would be interesting to look into… Later of course. "But you're _my_ brat."

"Much better." Kafei laughed and captured his lover's lips in a soft kiss. He loved it so much when Vaati was happy… It was much better than when he'd mope or angst. When he pulled away, he ran the back of his hand gently against the side of Vaati's face, still fascinated by his pale skin. He pushed the hair away from his right eye and traced the mark there. The markings under his eyes were so exotic looking… "You look like you're going to eat me alive or something."

"Just enjoying the view…" Though it didn't sound like a bad idea. "Maybe I _should_ give you a pet name… What about muffin?"

"…What do you _think_?" Kafei laughed at the look on his face and tried again.

"How about cupcake?"

"How about you try again?"

"…Pookie?" Vaati shuttered and fixed him with a firm glare.

"If you _ever_ call me that, I'll turn you to stone and let the Cuccos roost on you." Kafei chuckled at the empty threat, then placed one last kiss to his forehead before stepping away and turning back to his cooking.

"Whatever you say, love." Well, that wasn't _so_ bad. Vaati'd take it.

"Anyway, before we got off topic… I was serious about Romani. I think I'll tell her tonight. Not about _us_ of course, just _me_. Anju already knows it at any rate, so it won't matter much if she spreads it around. I really don't care _who_ knows it." Kafei was glad that his lover was optimistic, but he couldn't help but be a bit worried. Not about Romani of course, but of his parents and in-laws. If his mother or Riria ever found out that Vaati was gay, the rumors going around would be more or less confirmed in their opinions. And he knew it was selfish, but…he really didn't want the whole town knowing he was gay yet, even if his lover wasn't concerned.

"Telling Romani is probably a good idea, yes. But… The Picori had hated you when they found out your sexuality. Why aren't you concerned about that happening here?" Vaati, completely oblivious to his lover's internal conflicts, smiled at the question.

"Well… Honestly, I'm not afraid anymore because I'm in this body now. I was weak when I was a Picori, and honestly, I thought they might…kill me. And if they'd wanted to, they probably would have succeeded." Kafei's chopping had slowed and eventually stopped yet again as the younger man went on. The thought that almost an entire town had wanted to kill Vaati just because he was different was nothing short of depressing. But before he could say anything or even turn around, Vaati continued. "But now, I _know_ I could defend myself. If they don't like me for something so trivial, that's their problem. …And if something ever goes wrong and they find out about our relationship, I can take care of you too."

Kafei said nothing as he spun around and took Vaati into his arms again and held him closely. He didn't deserve Vaati; he knew he didn't. It didn't matter what Vaati had done in the past or how bratty he could be those days. Anyone who'd offer to protect someone as selfish and arrogant as he knew he could be already had all the redemption for past deeds that they could possibly need.

"…S-suday…kissue…" Vaati chuckled at the botched attempt at the Picori language, but he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. He wasn't sure what had gotten into Kafei, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Sude kisu," he agreed, wrapping his arms around Kafei's neck and bringing their faces together until they could feel the other's breath on their faces. "Ttozu, always."

"Yes, always…" Their heads tilted and eyes flickered shut, getting ever closer until—

"Ah, we're back guys!"

—Cremia's harried voice caused them to jolt apart. Between the tone of her voice and the fact that they were back far sooner than they usually were, they knew something was wrong… And when she finally hurried into the kitchen with a worried expression on her face, Romani at her heels and Anju nowhere too be seen, they knew they were right.

"Kafei, something's wrong with Anju… We were in town and saw your mom, and she dragged Anju away. When she came back, she…she… Well, I don't know, but something was wrong. She wouldn't talk to us. All she did was stare into space for a few minutes, then she ran off! We had to sprint just to keep up with her! As soon as we got here, she ran upstairs and I don't know what to _do_ and I'm _scared_ and—"

"Calm down," Kafei cut in before she passed out. It took a lot to rattle Cremia, but then again, that behavior was highly unusual for Anju. Of course, with his mother involved… He just knew it wasn't going to be anything good. "I'll go upstairs and see if she'll talk to me. Vaati wanted to talk to Romani anyway. You can be…moral support." He caught Vaati's eye before he left, and they shared a nod. Whatever was going on, they'd already made a promise—_always_.

"Thanks Kafei." Cremia sighed in relief as he was out the kitchen door. Anju had frightened her, and not even her pride was going to stop her from admitting it. She cared about the other girl too much _not_ to ask for help. But there was nothing else for her to do right then… Besides, she had a feeling she knew what Vaati was going to say. She wasn't stupid—she knew what her little sister thought of him…

"Oh Vaati, you wanted to talk to me? What is it? Whatever it is, yes!" The love struck expression he was met with was _not_ helping matters. Nor was Cremia snickering in the background. How lovely… Goddesses knew what Kafei was going through, and here he was, having a hard time telling a twelve-year-old girl that he was gay… And just after he'd told Kafei he didn't care who knew! …Of course, the entire town didn't have a crush on him either.

"Romani… We need to talk about something important." He had no idea how to tell her now. How did you say something like that to a kid? He had very little practice talking to children, and most people who knew he liked guys found out on their own. Somehow, just coming out and saying she had no chance with him seemed rather cruel… "How do you…feel about me?" The pretty blush across her cheeks made him positive that in five years, she'd have her pick of men.

"Oh, well, I… I like you a lot. Um, you know, _like_ like you. You're really cool and nice and…" She trailed off, and Vaati was still no closer to knowing how to tell her.

"I see. Well, Romani, you know how some people are…_different_?"

"Different?" she repeated, a confused look on her face. "What do you mean?" Obviously, she had no idea what that had to do with her confession. She was definitely in for a surprise.

"Different, as in, some people don't like the opposite gender. Some girls like other girls, and some boys like other boys. You've heard of that, right?" He hoped that hadn't sounded condescending, but really, this was almost _painful_…

"Oh, you mean that some people are gay! Yeah, I don't actually know anyone like that, but some people seem to think Kafei is like that, but they're totally weird anyway… Why do you ask?" Vaati sighed and looked to the ground, not meeting her gaze. Romani looked confused at first, but then her eyes opened in realization. "…You mean…you're…?"

Cremia watched as her sister's eyes misted over. She'd been afraid of this… She had to hand it to Vaati; at least he'd done it with tact. Somehow, she had a feeling that Kafei would have just blurted it out and told her to move on and find a boy her own age. That didn't change the fact that her little sister was about to cry though…

"Romani…" She never got the chance to continue, because Vaati chose that moment to kneel down and take the girl into his arms in a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, "I really am, but it's true. I don't want you to waste your time on me, okay? It's nothing personal, but I've known I like men since I was thirteen. You're a very sweet girl, and one day you'll find a guy who will love you the way you deserve, I promise. …Are you all right?" She sniffed and nodded into the hug, soaking in his words. _Vaati_ was _gay_...

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Then…there's nothing wrong with me?"

"No," he confirmed, pulling away to look her in the eyes, a serious expression on his face, "nothing at all. You're a wonderful girl who'll make a wonderful wife one day. And I'd be honored if you still wanted to be my friend."

As Romani happily agreed that yes, she would love to be his friend, Cremia smiled at the sweet scene. Vaati would make a great dad some day… And since Kafei had always said he wanted kids when they were younger, she could only wonder how long it would be until they adopted… Or until Anju got _her_ wish for kids.

'_You need to make a decision soon_,' she silently told him. '_You can't keep Anju away forever, and you can't expect Vaati to wait either… When will you stop being selfish and think of __**them?**_"

* * *

"Anju, I'm coming in…" Just as he'd thought, Anju hadn't locked the door. She never thought about those kinds of things… Or perhaps she'd _wanted_ to be followed. Her lack of surprise at seeing him enter made him assume the latter was correct. "What's wrong?"

She said nothing as he sat next to her. _Next_ to her, but not _touching_ her. It wasn't a conscious decision, he just had no desire to. His subconscious knew he only wanted to touch one person… And he was downstairs telling a little girl that he liked guys. He wasn't sure which of them had a harder job.

"…Kafei…" He was nothing short of relieved when she finally spoke. Of course, he was a bit concerned at the tone of her voice—quiet and sad. "…Do you love me?"

"Of course." And it wasn't a lie. He _did_ love her… She never specified what kind of love she meant after all. "What did my mother say to make you think otherwise?" She remained silent for a few moments before she could decide how to word her thoughts.

"I know that I can be naïve. But…I don't think I'm stupid. I believe everything you tell me, but in the back of my mind, I always wonder what you're hiding from me. The day Vaati met Cremia and Romani, you came downstairs without a shirt on. Your hair was a mess. You said your mother had come by that day, but today she stopped me and asked about you… She hasn't seen you for at _least_ a week before that day. So why Kafei, why did you lie to me? After all this time, have the rumors going around town between true? I've always believed you when you said they weren't, but if you were lying about that, who knows what else you could be lying about…"

Now, of course, was the ideal time to tell her the truth. He could tell her that he was homosexual, in love with Vaati, and they could be happy. She could move on. It was a _perfect_ opportunity.

"Anju, of course it's not true. You can't believe my mother, you know that. She's a miserable woman who just wants to ruin everyone else's happiness. I wasn't lying to you, you _must_ know that." She bit her lip as she mulled over his words. After a minute, she nodded and threw her arms around his waist. She tried not to think about the fact that he didn't hold her or kiss her anymore. Or that he hadn't said "I love you" in so long. She didn't see all of the holes in his story because she didn't _want_ to. She loved him after all…

And Kafei felt like the dirtiest man alive.

* * *

"So, how did it go?" After their separate encounters, the lovers didn't have a chance to talk alone until they were in Vaati's room that night. All the sorcerer knew was that when Anju had come down with Kafei, she had looked happy and he looked guilty. Whatever had happened, he had to assume that telling her the truth _hadn't_ been part of it.

"I lied to her," he said blankly as he sat on the bed. "Again. She asked if I loved her and I said yes. After all, I do love her, but I knew what she meant and I don't love her like she wants me too. I'm such a horrid person. You told Romani the truth and you haven't know her for that long, and I can't even do the same to my best friend since I was a child. Neither of you deserve me…" Vaati resisted the urge to bash his head against the wall. He wasn't sure when exactly their roles had changed, but this new hypercritical Kafei was unnerving, to say the least.

"Kafei…" Said innkeeper raised his eyes from the floor just in time to see the incoming hand whap him upside the head. "You need to stop blaming yourself! Yes, you should have told her, but I understand that you're scared. It's understandable. You don't want to hurt her, but either way you're going to… I know you want to wait, and that's fine, so long as you don't wait too long. So stop acting like you killed a puppy and kiss me dammit!" Kafei blinked. Twice. He was still taken by surprise whenever Vaati turned commanding. Though… It was _awfully_ sexy.

"I don't think I will," he replied with a smirk, which only deepened when Vaati's expression turned incredulous. "I think it would be far better if _you_ kissed _me_." Honestly, Vaati didn't care who kissed who as long as their lips were attached, but he humored his lover and pushed him down on the bed, straddled him, and ravaged his mouth—all within five seconds. The unknowing display of dominance only served to turn Kafei on even more.

Kafei didn't have the chance to belittle himself anymore that day—Vaati kept him far too occupied for the rest of the night.

* * *

Anju woke up in the middle of the night and quietly slipped out of the room without waking Cremia or Romani. She hadn't been sleeping well lately regardless, but that night she'd barely been able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. Maybe getting some fresh air would calm her nerves… 

She silently padded down the hallway, ready to head downstairs…but she stopped suddenly. Something in the back of her mind was telling her to look in Vaati's room… She knew she shouldn't. He deserved his privacy, as did her husband. But… Things just weren't adding up lately. She knew Vaati was gay, she wondered the same about Kafei for years, they were both acting strangely… Part of her felt utterly horrible for thinking that Kafei would have lied to her like that, but another part told her it was only human nature…

Her feet made up her mind. She knew, as she stood before the door, that it was probably a waste of time. The door was probably locked… But she raised her hand to try regardless, only to find…that the door opened without a sound.

This was it. She could go in and see if there were any answers, or she could turn around and be blissfully ignorant… It wasn't a hard decision in the end. She went in, grateful for the moonlight that bathed the room, making the sight before her leave no room for doubt.

After all, seeing two naked men in each other's arms was about as obvious an answer as she could possibly get.

Just as quietly as she entered, so did she leave and shut the door behind herself. Then it was down the stairs as she'd first planned and out into the cool night. She supposed that she should be more surprised—more upset. But instead, she felt…numb. She'd only been married to Kafei for a little more than half a year, after loving him forever… And now to find out he was cheating on her… For how long? Since Vaati arrived? Just recently? Had there been others before him? In the morning, she knew what she had to do…

'_Wait, no… I… I'm sure there's some kind of misunderstanding. Kafei loves me, I just know it! Vaati's gay; maybe he convinced Kafei to experiment… Yes, I'm sure that's it. Kafei loves me, not him. This is just a phase that he'll get over. Then things will go back to normal_.'

She stayed outside for a few more minutes, enjoying the cool night air and watching the twinkling stars. When she finally went back inside, she fell asleep immediately.

* * *

Morning came, and Cremia and Romani went. It was when Vaati went to bring their dishes from lunch to the kitchen that Anju caught her husband alone.

"How much longer will he be staying here?" Kafei was nothing short of taken back by that.

"As long as he wants to… Why do you ask? Don't you like him?" That answer wasn't as clear-cut as it would have been a mere day ago…

"Of course… I was just curious. He hasn't been spending any of the money we've paid him to help out, and I thought maybe he'd want a place of his own…" That was awfully tempting, knowing they'd be alone… But it was nice to have Vaati constantly around, even if they had to hide their true relationship most of the time. If he was gone, the lies would just get more and more elaborate…

"There's really no reason. The rooms never fill up, we have extra help around here, and I have another man to talk to. Besides, he doesn't know anyone but us. You wouldn't make him go out into a town that's constantly spreading rumors about him, would you?" No, she wouldn't, no matter what was going on. Between the young women who wanted to molest him and the older folks who thought he was nothing but trouble, that would be cruel. Besides, she knew it was just a phase…

"No, you're right… And you two are getting along so well…" Her voice did nothing to betray her newfound knowledge, though her eyes showed a sadness that Kafei completely missed.

"Yes, we certainly are. Now I'll go help him with the dishes if that was all." She nodded and he quickly left for the kitchen without another word. She slowly walked back to the front room, sighing as she sat down at the desk. Who knew what they were doing at that very moment… No, she had to stay positive. Kafei would get bored of this game and come back to her soon, she was sure of it…

She ignored the little voice in the back of her mind that insisted otherwise.


	11. Chapter 10

Kismet—Chapter Ten

by taitofan

Rated R for yaoi, sexual content, hits of yuri, and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Honestly… So much happens in this chapter (it's the longest chapter so far) that I don't know where to start… I suppose that first off, I should apologize that I don't write angst well. And since this chapter deals with just that… Ah, well, so much goes on in this chapter that hopefully it won't matter _too_ much. Yet another arc of the story is done after this, and we'll start in with the next one right in the next chapter. There's still plenty of story left everyone! Lots more fluff, angst, smex… Oh yes, lots of the first and third especially. There will eventually be a new character or two introduced…have fun guessing who it'll be. But for now, just read away and enjoy how this long part plays out.

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 07-03-07

* * *

"Kafei… Have you noticed anything strange about Anju lately?" Kafei scratched a few things in the guestbook before setting the quill down with a small sigh. Said woman ran to the market to get extra food, as they'd just gotten in a large party. A group of travelers was staying for three days while they rested, and feeding them was part of the deal. These things were good for business, but not so good for affairs. Even with Anju gone, they had to be careful, lest someone walk downstairs and see them… 

"She hasn't been the same since she talked to my mother last week…" It was painfully obvious that she was pretending to be her normal cheerful self, but her smile never met her eyes. He wasn't sure what was bothering his wife…but as soon as all these people were gone, he'd have to find out.

"Do you think that maybe she found out about u—" Vaati stopped short as the sound of footsteps met their ears. Seconds later, one of the children in the group—a teenage girl—came down the stairs. She was a green-eyed blonde with fashionable clothes from the city that clung in just the right places. She was beautiful and no doubt had her fair share of admirers...

"Oh, Mr. Kafei! We've run out of towels. Do you have any more? Unless you want me running around naked that is…" …Alas, she'd taken a shine to Kafei, despite the fact that he was married and gay—even if she didn't know the latter.

"We have more in the laundry room. I'll go get some…" He quickly got up to fetch them, not wanting to see anyone naked but Vaati. The girl certainly knew how to lay it on thick…

"Thank you very much Mr. Kafei!" She smiled as he left the room, her expression full of teenage lust. Vaati couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her… She stood no chance, but at least she'd be gone in just a few days, at which time she was likely to forget all about him. It was better than the situation he had with Romani at least. The poor girl was still infatuated with him…

"Here you go." Kafei was back in record time with a large stack of towels, which the girl took with a smile, making sure to touch his hand as she did so.

"Thanks again!" With a wink, she bounded back up the stairs, a broad smile adorning her face. Once she was out of earshot, Kafei sat back down with a groan.

"They haven't even been here a full day and she's smitten… Honestly, that's insane…" Vaati couldn't help but laugh at the irony of that statement.

"Oh, I don't know about that… I was attracted to you the moment I woke up and saw you, so I can sympathize with her. Besides, she's a teenager and you're attractive. Why _wouldn't_ she become smitten with you?" Kafei frowned as he reached out and caught a bit of Vaati's hair between his fingers and twirled it around. He'd taken a liking to the long lavender strands lately, and any excuse to play with them was gratefully taken.

"That's different. You're old enough to know what you want, and she's practically a child. How can a teenager know what love is? All they know is lust…" Vaati could sense he was taking from experience, so he wisely said nothing. "Most girls in town prefer you anyway. You're more approachable than I am after all."

"Only because you scowl at most strangers that aren't paying customers and no one knows I'm an ex-megalomaniac. …Perhaps she doesn't like men with hair longer than hers?" Kafei snorted at the ridiculous explanation, but who knew? Maybe he was right… He'd never completely understood girls, his two best friends included.

"I suppose…" The chime of the clock on the wall alerted them to the new hour. Normally, Anju would take over the shift then so he could start cooking, but since she was out buying food… "I hope they don't start rioting if lunch is late."

"There're only seven of them. I could take them on…" Kafei had the sudden mental image of Vaati turning the family upstairs into stone… It was oddly satisfying.

"I'm sure you could, but Anju would probably be upset, so we'd better leave them alone." Vaati carefully took back his hair and got up from his chair. Kafei was about to question his actions until the younger man sat back down in his lap.

"I'll leave _them_ alone as long as they leave _us_ alone…" He knew he should say it wasn't a good idea; he should say that Anju would be back soon or that someone could come downstairs, but honestly, kissing the beautiful creature on his lap was far too tempting to ignore. So he didn't.

Tongues danced with practiced ease, hands wandered further and further down… Vaati broke the kiss with a gasp as Kafei's hand slipped under the waistband of his pants. He tried to protest—that _was_ going too far for their current location—but no words would come out. Despite the fact that he was still a virgin, he was no longer a stranger to these types of sexual activity, and Kafei knew just how to make him squirm. Through the haze in his mind as Kafei's fingers worked their magic, he realized that he had to be quiet… But how? If he kept going like that, he would—he was going to…

Vaati's muffled moan and Kafei's startled gasp came at the same time as the sorcerer bit down at the junction of Kafei's shoulder and neck as he climaxed. Damn Kafei never let him last long…

"You bit me…" He wasn't so much angry as he was surprised. "Is that some Picori thing I don't know about…?"

Vaati opened his mouth to reply—or at least try to—when the sound of a door handle caught his attention. Honestly, how many times could they be interrupted in a day? But it didn't matter; right now, he had to get off Kafei and…and his pants were a mess. Anju was gonna— Wait. No she wouldn't…

Anju opened the door, shopping bags in hand, only to see Kafei staring ahead of him as if he'd just seen a Ghini. She looked around, only to find someone important missing.

"Where's Vaati?" Kafei was wondering the same thing… Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, something else caught his wife's attention before he had to answer. "Oh my! Kafei, what happened to your neck?" …He was going to _kill_ his impulsive boyfriend…

"Well, you see, I…" As Kafei struggled for words, Anju assessed the situation. A bite on his neck, tousled hair, a flushed face… Oh. Vaati must have gotten away before she came in…

"You know, I'm sure our guests are getting hungry. You should start cooking; I'll take over here. We wouldn't want me poisoning them, right?" He was rather surprised that she dropped it, just like that, but he took the reprieve and got up to take the bags from her without a word. Anju watched him rush into the kitchen before she sighed and went to sit down. She stopped right before she sat, instead staring at the chair. What exactly had they been doing on it…?

After a few seconds she dragged a stool from the corner and settled down to think.

* * *

Kafei was stirring a pot when a swooshing noise filled the air. He spun around, only to see Vaati materialize a few feet behind him. The sorcerer had fixed his hair and put on new pants since he'd last seen him. Kafei could only stare for a few moments as Vaati smiled proudly.

"You…got enough strength back to teleport." Vaati nodded, his smile widening.

"Well, it's been over a month since I was sick. I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I tried, and I ended up right in my room where I'd envisioned. I feel fine now too, so I suppose it'll be all right to assume I can do it whenever I please now. That'll certainly make things easier…" Oh yes, Kafei could see it now. Every time Vaati used his powers, _he_ ended up on his butt… This one was sure to give him an even _bigger_ advantage…

"Sure it will…" Vaati could see that his lover wasn't quite as enthused as he was.

"Well, I can teleport people with me if I'm touching them. That could prove to come in handy, don't you agree?" Kafei perked up at that. Why yes, that did indeed sound handy …

"I suppose that could be useful in the future… And that disappearing act you pulled probably saved us, even if Anju did notice where you _bit_ me. Luckily, she didn't press me for answers…" The sorcerer let out a nervous laugh and scratched the side of his face in embarrassment.

"Right, that… There's no big hidden meaning or anything. I just didn't want anyone to hear us, and I wasn't really thinking about it…" He didn't mention that looking back on it, it seemed…sexy.

"I see…" And Kafei didn't mention that the gesture had turned him on even more than he'd already been.

"I _did_ have to leave _awfully_ quickly," Vaati mused, stepping closer and looping his arms around Kafei's neck. "Did you want me to return the favor…?" Well, _of course_ he did, but…

"I need to cook without burning the inn down. It'll have to wait until tonight." Vaati shrugged as if to say '_Your loss_,' then pressed a quick kiss to Kafei's lips before stepping away.

"Then cook away, oh master chief."

As they settled into their normal routine at meal times—Kafei cooking and Vaati either helping or watching—neither was aware of the figure watching them through the keyhole. Well, at least Anju now had a pretty good idea as to what happened in that chair…

* * *

Lunch had been rather uneventful, despite all of the extra guests. Amusingly enough—to the three permanent occupants at least—the family had mistakenly congratulated Anju on the delicious food. Vaati still hadn't ever tasted her cooking, but judging by the horror stories he'd heard from Kafei, Cremia, Romani, and even Anju herself, he was lucky…

After lunch, Anju resumed her desk duties while the family went into town and the other two cleaned. Rather than brood, she made up her mind to pay someone a certain visit a bit later… And when the men were done and took over the shift, she quickly went to her grandmother's room. She couldn't go to her mother for obvious reasons, but maybe Elain could help… She'd always liked Kafei after all, even when they were children. She just hoped she could trust that the elder woman wouldn't tell anyone…

"How was lunch grandma?" Elain, who'd noticed that her granddaughter had been one step away from depression for the last few days, smiled kindly at her and motioned for her to sit down.

"Child, there is no point in small talk when it's obvious that you have something on your mind. You should tell me what's wrong before you decide against it." Anju nodded and sat down slowly, wondering what she should say…

"Well, you see… It's just… I saw… And… I don't _know_…" If she hadn't looked so miserable, Elain would have laughed at her indecision. Luckily, she had a pretty good idea that she knew _exactly_ what the problem was…

"Does this have to do with Kafei and Vaati?" Anju perked up at the mention of their names. Did her grandmother know…?

"Well, yes, but I don't know if I should tell you… It's sort of a secret, and mother _can't_ know…" Elain thought as much. It seemed Anju had finally stumbled upon the truth. And she was right—if Riria ever found it, disaster would strike. Her daughter-in-law had always had something against that boy, and even she wasn't sure why…

"No, Riria is the last person who needs to know of their affair, you're right." Anju's eyes widened as her question was confirmed, causing Elain to chuckle. What an innocent girl she still was… "I've known for quite some time. It wasn't my place to tell you though. You'd needed to realize the truth for yourself."

"Yes… But, you'll talk about it now right?" She nodded and shifted in her wheelchair to get comfortable. She had a feeling they'd be there for a while.

"Of course dear. Tell me whatever you're feeling. This must be quite the shock for you after all." Anju bit her lip softly as she thought over her next words. There were things she'd wanted to say for years… It seemed that now was the time she finally got them out.

"Well…not really, to tell the truth. I always had a feeling that he was interested in men. There was that Sheik boy he was so enthralled by when we were teenagers… And he never cared about any of the girls who chased after him, no matter how pretty they were. Even when he proposed to me, part of me thought that I must be an exception to the rule… And now seeing him with Vaati… Grandma, I just don't know what to do! I love Kafei so much, and I like Vaati too. I don't want to hurt anyone, but…he's my husband! Should I really just sit by, knowing he's cheating on me, and let it happen? At first I thought it was just a phase, but now I'm not so sure…"

Ah, what to say to the young woman…? She loved Kafei with all her heart, there was no doubt, but Elain knew—she'd always known—that Kafei was not her soul mate. He could never love her, and she half-wondered if Anju herself wasn't mistaking her affections… But that was something she had to figure out on her own.

"That is your decision. If you really feel that he's just going through a phase and your marriage will remain in tact, then you can say nothing. It doesn't sound like you even want to confront them about it…" Honestly? No, she didn't. When she saw them together now, her stomach twisted in knots. Part of her wanted to rip Kafei away, but the other part wondered if she really should… "You are a smart girl Anju. Just follow your heart and don't let anyone else influence your view of the situation. Do what feels right."

Anju was silent for a few moments, soaking in the advice. Do what felt right… Follow her heart… But what was she supposed to do when her heart wasn't sure either? Deciding that she didn't have to decide right then, she stood up and enveloped Elain in a hug, which the old woman gratefully returned.

"Thank you Grandma. I'll keep that in mind. I just want to know one more thing… How long has their…affair been going on?" Elain thought for a few moments, trying to recall how long ago it had been since she'd talked to Vaati…

"It must be close to two months now…" Almost two months… Then Vaati had only been there about a week before he and Kafei…

"I see. Thank you again Grandma. See you at dinnertime." Without waiting for another word, Anju left the room, shutting the door gently behind her. Kafei and Vaati were at the front desk still, talking and laughing about something… She didn't stick around to find out what was so amusing, instead heading straight upstairs to her room. _Their_ room. Even if it seemed that Kafei had done more in Vaati's bed than theirs…

'_How can I want him so badly_,' she thought as she sat on the bed and hugged a pillow to her chest, '_when I don't want to take him away from Vaati? Maybe I've been reading too many books… He's __**my**__ husband after all…_'

It was just too bad that their marital status didn't seem all that important anymore.

* * *

The rest of the day, no matter what Anju was doing, she was thinking. When she was working, eating, trying to relax—it didn't matter what was going on, she was thinking. Even when she and Kafei went to bed, she didn't say a thing. She had to decide something very important, and she had to do it quickly. Her thoughts kept her up most of the night, allowing her notice when Kafei got out of bed in the middle of the night. She hoped that he was just going to the bathroom…but when he didn't came back within ten minutes, she forced her mind to go blank so she could sleep. She couldn't deal with it tonight…

The next morning, things went smoothly all morning long—as smoothly as they could go considering how many guests they had at least. Breakfast was filled with the teenage daughter trying to flirt with Kafei, only for him to utterly ignore her. Interestingly enough, it seemed that one of her brothers fancied someone too.

"That's a lovely shade of purple your hair is," he said to Vaati, charm oozing from is voice. "Would you call it lavender or lilac?" No one in the family batted an eyelash at the blatant flirting, leaving the regulars to wonder if the pair of siblings did this a lot. However, Anju couldn't help but notice that Kafei glowered at the boy when he thought no one was looking…

"Well, lavender I suppose…" Vaati, on the other hand, seemed to be oblivious to the finer nuances of human flirting. Kafei smirked as the boy sighed and went back to eating.

Anju wondered how she'd managed to miss all of the signs for so long.

* * *

Kafei was getting rather…nervous. Anju hadn't gotten any of her usual spark back, and both he and Vaati were worried. What could possibly have happened…? As selfish as it sounded, he hoped that it was a personal matter for her, and that Vaati wasn't right about her knowing of their affair. But what if she did? They should have told her before—he knew they should have. All those lies were just going to make things worse if she found out on her own… 

She had barely said a dozen words to him by the time the day was done. Therefore, as he headed upstairs for bed, he decided to take the initiative and talk to her. After all, they were best friends… He didn't get the chance to though, as once he entered the room, he saw Anju sprawled across the bed in only a green and white negligee. He could only assume that to a straight man, she would have looked absolutely breathtaking… Unfortunately, he only felt extremely uneasy at the sight.

"Anju…" She looked up at him, a smile on her face, but apprehension apparent in her eyes. This was her last chance…

"Hello Kafei. …Sorry I didn't wear the purple and black one I got for our honeymoon, but I couldn't find it…" Kafei couldn't help it—he felt himself flush as he thought of Vaati, who still had the teddy in his possession. Anju noticed his reaction and suddenly looked hopeful, thinking that he was responding to her. "It's been over half a year… I think we should try for children—tonight."

"I've told you," he sighed, hoping that this wouldn't take long, "I'm not ready for children… I…I don't really want any." Anju wasn't so easily defeated. Not tonight. She'd put a lot of thought into this plan after all.

"Well, that's okay. We can still go through the motions." Kafei had to try very hard not to flinch at her sultry tone. It seemed so…wrong.

"I really don't think… I mean, you're not taking any pills; we don't have any contraceptives… You might get pregnant regardless, and…" It took a lot to anger Anju, it really did. Normally, she had a fuse the size of Termina, but she was at the end of it. She'd heard every excuse in the book in the past seven months, and she was sick of being lied to. Why couldn't he just tell her the truth?

"Stop lying to me! Why can't you just admit that you don't want to sleep with me because you're alredy sleeping with Vaati?" Kafei felt his insides freeze at her last words. She knew… He supposed that technically, he could have denied it. They'd never actually had sex after all… But no. No more lying. It was time to lay their cards on the table, for better or worse…

"…I'm not sure how much you know or how you found out, but you're right. I…I love Vaati. I've never felt this way about anyone before in my entire life. I know we should have told you, and I'm sorry that we didn't. I understand that you're upset…" In love… He said he was in love… And it wasn't with her. Her heart broke more with every word. "…but it's not any fault of yours. I'm gay, just like everyone thinks. You were all right, and it was equally wrong of me to lead you on by marrying you. I thought maybe I could change, but I was wrong. I…I really am sorry Anju. You're my best friend, and I honestly didn't want to hurt you."

Anju was quiet for quite some time, soaking in all he'd told her. Kafei was about to ask if she was all right when she lifted her gaze to meet his, a strange smile on her face.

"I always had a feeling… It's okay, really it is. You don't have to love me. You can love him but still be with me, even if it's just this once. I don't care if you don't really love me; just for tonight you can pretend. You can pretend I'm him if you want, scream his name, I don't mind… I'll let you do anything you want…"

If it had been any other girl saying those things to him, he would have laughed. But this was _Anju_, and she was serious… Did she not understand what he had said?

"I told you, I'm gay. Pretending isn't going to work… Anju, please, we need to talk about this and—" And he never got the chance to continue, because Anju chose that moment to launch herself to him and press their lips together. Kafei froze as she slipped her tongue within his slack jaw. This…this wasn't happening… It couldn't be…

"Stop it!" he shouted, pushing her away and back onto the bed. She fell back and stared up at him, tears clearly glistening in her eyes. But now he was too upset to stop himself. "I know I'm scum for leading you on, but I did. I can't go back and change it, nor would I want to. I love Vaati, not you. Nothing is going to change that, so you might as well just accept it. Now do you want talk rationally or not?" She didn't say anything at first. She just couldn't believe… Didn't he understand…? How could he just…

"…Just go. If you want to be with _him_ so badly, then just leave me alone…" He scowled at her bitter words. Part of him knew he was being a bastard. She loved him, and he'd lied to and cheated on her. But the other part argued that this was about him and Vaati too, not just her… That part one out.

"Fine. I'll be in _his_ room." Without another word, he stalked out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him. Anju could only stare at it for a few moments before breaking down and crying.

* * *

When Vaati heard muffled shouting from two doors down, he knew something was wrong. Then a door slammed and seconds later Kafei was entering the room and locking it behind him, and he was even surer that things weren't right. And when Kafei quickly crossed the room and captured his lips in a deep kiss without a word… Well, it was nice, but something was _still_ wrong.

"Mmm, Kafei," he struggled to say while his lover was obviously trying to lick his tonsils, "what's going…on?" With his last word, he managed to pull away enough to get a good look at Kafei. He looked nothing short of miserable… "Does this have something to do with the yelling I heard from your room?"

"…Yes." The younger man nodded. He'd thought as much. "She knows…about us. I'm not sure how, but she knows I love you, and I told her my sexual orientation. She just…didn't want to accept it though. I lost my temper… I'm the worst person on the face of the planet, aren't I?"

"Well…" He hated seeing Kafei like this, but he was hardly the best person for comforting words… So he supposed he'd just have to say what was in his heart. "We've both been selfish by keeping it to ourselves. Anju should have known before we even started this. But… It's still for the best that she finds out. She deserves someone who she can be happy with and who'll be happy with her. That's not you. _We_ make each other happy. And probably, in the morning, everyone will be calmer and we can talk it over. Tonight she can think things over, and we can…" Kafei raised an eyebrow as Vaati flushed and leaned over to rummage through the drawer of his bedside table. Everything he'd said made sense—and now that he'd calmed a bit he could see it—but what was he—?

Oh.

Kafei accepted the bottle of oil from Vaati, whose face was still a deep shade of red that especially stood out on his oddly pigmented skin. It didn't take a genius to figure out the meaning behind his actions…

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you…" Vaati nodded, then slipped his nightshirt off and tossed it to the floor. Kafei took in the pale skin he loved so much with utter appreciation. Vaati was offering himself completely… And who was Kafei to deny him? "All right. We'll have to try to be quiet though. There are lots of people here."

"Of course." Vaati knew that now probably wasn't the best time to offer his virginity to his lover. There were lots of people around, and only the goddesses knew what Anju was going through… But they both needed a distraction, or they'd brood all night long. And what sweeter distraction could there possibly be? Besides, he'd been thinking about it lately… And he wanted this so badly. He _needed_ to be one with Kafei.

As they slowly undressed each other, Kafei wondered if this was the best idea… By the time they began kissing while Kafei prepared his lover with the oil, he started to forget about it. And as he entered his lover with a groan and heard Vaati's not-quite-restrained cry, he honestly couldn't have cared less. Vaati was so hot, so tight… He hadn't lied about being a virgin. It was the best feeling he'd ever experienced… And judging by the way Vaati was soon rocking back against him, he had a feeling that the sentiment was returned.

And as they consummated their relationship, all thoughts about anything but each other left their minds.

* * *

Morning came, and as Vaati awoke, the first thing he thought of was how wonderful the night had been…

Then once he tried to move, he realized how _sore_ he was.

"Oww…" Kafei woke up from the combination of his lover's movement and voice. Seeing Vaati wince as he tried to sit up made him proud and amused at the same time.

"Sore today, love?" Vaati glared halfheartedly at him. As if he didn't know…

"What do _you_ think? Weren't you sore after you were with Sheik?" He was surprised that Vaati would bring up his old lover while they were naked in bed together after a night of incredible sex… But he supposed that was good. He obviously wasn't jealous about it.

"No, not particularly. I was on top then too." Vaati's surprise was clear in his eyes, which were both visible for once due to the fact that he hadn't had the time to style it as he normally did. Kafei wished he'd wear it like that more often.

"But you said you gave yourself to him…" He nodded, sitting up himself and putting his arm around Vaati in a half-hug.

"I did. And he wanted me to take the lead. How else would I have know what I was doing if I hadn't gone through the trial and error process before?" …Honestly, Vaati had figured he was just a natural. But Kafei _hardly_ needed to have his ego fed…

"Just assumed you'd remember what Sheik had done I suppose…" He leaned into Kafei, enjoying the warmth that radiated from his body. Life was almost perfect… Of course… "When should we talk to Anju?"

"It's still fairly early, so we still have some time before breakfast… So once we get up I suppose. But for now…" He let his hand wander down his lover's lithe body, loving the feel of his soft skin. "I think we should do something to get our morale up, don't you agree?" Whether he agreed or not—which, for the record, he did—it didn't matter, because Kafei had him pinned to the bed and he wasn't going to be saying much of anything for a while.

* * *

By the time they finally got downstairs…no one was there. There was a note left on the counter from Anju saying that the family had left early for some reason and that she'd already checked them out. She also mentioned that she had a lot to think about and would be back later that day and asked them not to come looking for her. Kafei felt guilty, yet relieved. He couldn't face her if she was still upset… Hopefully, by the time she got back, they'd all be ready to straighten things out once and for all… And Guardians knew they had a lot to straighten out.

"Shall I make breakfast for two then?" Vaati nodded as he slowly made his way to the kitchen.

"Sure, but let me help. I don't think I can sit on anything hard right now… Maybe that'll help take my mind off from the pain you caused my poor butt…" Kafei could only laugh at his pouting… Until a strong gust of wind knocked him onto his own butt. "Turnabout is fair play…"

…Oh well. It had all been worth it.

* * *

Right after lunch, there was a knock on the door. The door was locked—Vaati had insisted that he be allowed to sit in Kafei's lap while they waited for her, as it was his fault he was in pain; Kafei thought he was overreacting, but was hardly about to say no—and Kafei figured it was Anju, having forgotten her key again… So Vaati let him up, and Kafei went to unlock the door… Only to find his father standing outside instead.

"Hello son. We need to talk." Those were never words Kafei liked hearing… Vaati, who had never seen Mayor Dotour before, could only gape at the strange looking man. That explained where Kafei got his hair color… He just _really_ hoped that Kafei aged better than his father had.

"Did mother send you?" Dotour shook his head, and Kafei stepped aside, allowing him to enter, and then locked the door behind him. Who knew what the purpose of the visit could be… "All right, what do you want?"

"The family making their way through town… They stayed here, didn't they?" Kafei nodded, wondering what that had to do with anyth— A sudden panic gripped him as he realized that it probably had a _lot_ to do with this visit.

"What did they say? Who did they say it to?" Dotour looked between his son and the man he'd heard so much gossip about. He was highly exotic looking—obviously not from Termina. But he didn't look like the evil maniac some people on the streets claimed he was…

"Calm down; they were only talking amongst themselves. You're lucky that I was the only one around to hear them too. If it had been your mother or Riria, things would be highly unpleasant for the both of you…" The lovers didn't really need to hear it to know, but Kafei still repeated his query of what they'd said… "Oh, it seems that the children had the room next to…Vaati, isn't it? Yes yes, it seems that the walls are too thin. You might want to look into that if you wish to copulate when guests are staying in the future."

Great. What was the count up to _now_? Far more than Kafei liked to think of, that was for sure. He could have tried to deny it…but his father had guessed his feelings before he'd even been sure himself. It just didn't seem worth it.

"I see… I'll have to remember that…" Vaati thought that maybe he should have told his boyfriend what Elain had said about hearing him and Sheik all those years ago… Oops. "All right, you know the truth. What are you going to do next? Will you tell mother, Riria, or maybe both? Should I begin writing my will?" Ah, Kafei had always been a bit on the melodramatic side, even as a child… It was good to see that some things never changed.

"Hardly. It's not my place to tell anyone about your personal life. You're an adult now after all. However, I might have to tell Anju if she does not know…" A few days ago, Kafei would have been highly upset by that. But now…

"She knows. We…fought about it last night. She's out thinking right now, and the three of us are going to discuss things when she returns. Honestly, I'm not sure what will happen… I assume she'll want a divorce though. I can get those papers from you, can't I?" As Dotour nodded and they began discussing what to do if that was indeed the outcome, Vaati stayed quiet and thought that over. Divorce… It hadn't existed in the Picori world—his people mated, not marry—but he'd read all about it when he'd been studying humans. He supposed he should have realized that was what would happen…but he honestly hadn't thought about it. Though if it left him with Kafei and Cremia to have her chance with Anju…then it couldn't be as bad as the books made it out to be. Picorian literature on humans _did_ seem to be rather outdated…

"Then I will leave the two of you alone…" Dotour turned to leave, having heard what he'd come to confirm, only to stop suddenly. He turned around, looked straight at Vaati for a few moments, and then walked towards him. The sorcerer was certainly capable to holding his own, but _still_. This man wasn't exact a ray of sunshine… "Vaati… Your presence has certainly stirred things up…"

"Uh, yes…" Vaati and Kafei were both apprehensive when Dotour raised his hand…only to offer it for Vaati to shake. The sorcerer let out a breath of relief and shook his hand gratefully.

"I'm Dotour, the mayor of Clock Town and Kafei's father. If my wife gives you problems, come to me. I know my son likes to try to handle the world's problems on his own…" He leaned in and lowered his voice so that only Vaati could hear. "And thank you, by the way, for making my son so happy. I've heard many rumors around town, and they all seem to point towards him being happier than most have seen him in years… You have my blessing in your relationship." He stepped away then, and nodded to his son, who only looked at them suspiciously. Then he finally left without another word, leaving them alone once again.

"…What did he say to you?" Vaati laughed softly and ran his fingers though his hair in a lightly embarrassed manner.

"He thanked me for making you happy… I didn't realize that people were talking so much in town. We don't go out too often…" Kafei sighed in relief that his father wasn't causing trouble. He relocked the door, sat down behind the counter, and patted his lap. Vaati gratefully took back his previous spot.

"No, not together. But when I go out to get groceries by myself, I suppose I have been more…cheerful. I didn't snap at the girl running the fruit stand when she gave me the wrong change… I still think they're all idiots, but you could say that I just don't show it as much these days." Vaati chuckled and leaned into Kafei's chest. To think _he_ was the reason Kafei was in higher spirits than he'd been in such a long time was empowering. Love was such a funny thing…

They didn't say any more as they settled back down to wait for Anju. There was really nothing more to say.

* * *

By the time Anju found herself back at the inn, it was close to dinnertime. She'd done plenty of soul searching that day… And she finally knew _exactly_ what she had to do.

She went to open the door, only to find it locked. Of course, now she realized why Kafei took to locking the doors when he and Vaati were alone… Just another thing to add to the web of lies he'd caught her in. Luckily, she had her key on her for once, and was in seconds later. The sight she was met with…

"Well, he certainly looks comfy." …made her smile. Kafei was sitting in a chair with a slumbering Vaati curled up in his lap. He looked up at her, relieved to see that she wasn't angry…for now at least.

"Yes. He must have been more tired than even he thought… He's been sleeping since after lunch." She laughed lightly as she shut the door and sat down on the counter so that they could talk without awaking the sorcerer.

"And I wonder why… You two were awfully busy last night. You must have worn him out." It wasn't often that she made him blush—not since they were kids at least—so she highly enjoyed it when he did just that.

"You don't seem very upset at the thought…" She shook her head, looking down at him with a touch of sadness in her eyes.

"No… Not anymore. I've thought about it since you left last night… That blond boy…Sheik. He was your first love, wasn't he?"

"Not technically," he replied, smiling as Vaati murmured something incomprehensible in his sleep. "He was my first crush, he was the first person I had sex with… But I didn't know him well enough to love him. The position of my first love belongs to Vaati." She nodded in understanding. She was thinking about crushes and love throughout the day… She came to the conclusion that she really did love Kafei. She loved him so much… And that was why she was going to say what she had planned next.

"Kafei… I decided something very important today…" This was it. Here was the part that she told him to leave, or that she was going to tell the whole town what a cheating jerk he was… "I'm not going to stand in your way." ...What?

"You're not…" She leaned down and lightly knocked him on the head, sticking her tongue out at him.

"You heard me. I do love you Kafei…and that's why I'm letting you go. I want you to be happy—I've _always_ wanted you to be happy. And if I make you stay with me, or if I'm a witch about this, you _won't_ be happy. But Vaati has changed you, if only a little. You two are perfect for each other; I can tell that you're both very much in love. So I'm not going to tell anyone. We can get divorced right away, or we can stay married for a while until we have something more concrete worked out. But whatever you decide, I won't stop you from being with Vaati. Your secret is safe with me." If Kafei had been the crying sort, he knew he would have been doing so after that. How did he get such a great lover _and_ a great best friend?

"Thank you Anju. That really does mean a lot to me, and I'm sure it does to Vaati too. And…I really am sorry. You deserve better than me. I know you'll find someone who's right for you in no time."

"Don't worry about it. We'll always be best friends. …But I'm not so sure that I'm going to find anyone else…" He thought about Cremia. If she and Vaati thought he was too blind to see her feelings for Anju, they were wrong. He'd always wondered, and the events that took place the last time she was there only strengthened his hunch. If anyone could love Anju the way she deserved, Cremia was it. He just hoped that Anju was bisexual…that was the one thing he wasn't sure of.

"I think it will be easier than you think… Have you eaten yet?" She didn't question the change of subject, because quite frankly, she was _starving_.

"No, I haven't eaten since earlier in the afternoon. Are you going to wake Vaati?" Kafei opened his moth to reply, when—

"I'm awake…" Kafei sent his lover a pseudo-glare. He didn't even sound tired…

"How long have you been awake you little brat?"

"Oh, long enough. You just make a nice pillow."

"Pillow you say? How many pillows do you know that can do _this_?"

"Eeei! Kafei! I'm still sore you jerk! Take this!"

"Ah!"

Anju couldn't help it—she laughed at the sight of them fighting like little kids. Kafei had pushed Vaati off his lap, Vaati had used those powers that amazed her so to knock his chair over, and they were both glaring at each other, though the smiles on their faces betrayed their true feelings. If she got to see more scenes like this now that they didn't have to hide from her… Well, that wouldn't be so bad.

Maybe she could write a book about all of this and get it in the alternative romance section…

* * *

That night, it was just the three of them. Though the happy couple had freedom now, they still toned it down for Anju's sake. It was still new for her after all… They didn't completely act like platonic friends though—they sat closely during dinner and Vaati returned to Kafei's lap afterwards, Kafei added Vaati's pet name of love in the conversation, and Vaati wasn't about to let Kafei forget that it was the older man's fault that he was in pain. Kafei had a feeling that he was going to milk that one for all it was worth…

Anju, truth be told, enjoyed seeing it. She knew that other women in her position would be more upset, but her Grandmother had told her to follow her heart… And her heart told her that she wanted to see Kafei happy no matter what. Besides, they were a cute couple, like something out of one of her books.

Thus, when it was time for them all to go to bed, Anju refused to let him in their bedroom.

"You should stay with your boyfriend! Just don't make too much noise…" Kafei gaped at her insinuations.

"You actually _want_ me to—"

"Didn't you hear a word I said earlier?" she admonished. "I accept your relationship, and I want you to be happy with him. So go sleep in his room, and tomorrow we can move your things in too. There's plenty of room after all." With that, she slammed the door in his face and clicked the lock. All he could do for a good minute was stare at it…

"Can't I have my pajamas at least?"

"Nope," she said through the door. "I think you can make due without them. You did last night."

As he walked back to Vaati's room—soon to be _their_ room—he wondered when she'd gotten so perverted…


	12. Chapter 11

Kismet—Chapter Eleven

by taitofan

Rated R for yaoi, sexual content, hits of yuri, and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: The first of Kafei's diary entries is taken directly from the game. Thought I should mention that. Uh… This chapter actually introduced a few things earlier than I originally anticipated, but it won't change things in the end, so I'm not worried about it. Twists and turns are coming left and right… Can you guess what I'm hinting towards? Ah, all will be reveled soon if my oh-so obvious hints are picked up… And I think now is a good time to mention that I might have screwed up the whole one hundred year door thing. From what I gather, humans can't enter the Picori world, but Picori are free to live among humans. Only the Picori in that ancient Picori realm are stuck. Or something like that, but I don't deal with them, so hopefully I didn't screw up too much… Hopefully no one minds if I messed it up any.

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 07-07-07

* * *

The next day, they put out a sign telling people to knock as loudly as possible if they needed a room. Not that they thought anyone would come before they were done, but it was a matter of courtesy. They needed to take the time to move Kafei's things into Vaati's room, and they figured that doing it that morning and getting it out of the way was the best possible course of action. Therefore, the three were currently flitting back and forth between the rooms.

"…Where did you get this?" It figured that on her very first trip into their newly shared room, Anju found her teddy while putting away some of Kafei's clothes.

"Well, it's…a long story…" Anju giggled and put the lingerie back in the drawer.

"That's okay, I get it. You can keep it. I never wore it anyway, and you must get a better reaction from it than I ever would…" Needless to say, they were both glad Anju was okay with their relationship.

They were just about finished when there was a loud banging—loud enough so that they heard it clearly upstairs. Kafei quickly offered to go get it, leaving Anju and Vaati with armfuls of his things.

"Sure, just leave us to move all of your things by ourselves…" Anju giggled at Vaati's annoyed tone, though she knew that he wasn't really angry. She was about to join in the teasing, when something caught her eye… She put down the box she'd been carrying and picked it up, gasping when she saw the title.

"Vaati, look what I found!" She held up a plain looking green book, which was held together with a small lock. It didn't look very special… "This is Kafei's diary!" …Okay, so it _was_.

"…Should we read it?" Anju looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head.

"No, they're Kafei's private, inner thoughts, so we probably shouldn't… But let's do it anyway!" Vaati liked her way of thinking. With a flick of his hand, the lock popped open, allowing Anju to flip through the pages.

"Wow, he hasn't written in it in a while… It stops a little after you came to Termina. Let's see… Oh, this is from the time he was turned into a child! '_The wedding ceremony is soon. It might be early, but I finished my wedding mask. I wonder if Anju has made hers? She tends to do things at the last minute, so probably not. There is a gathering of the fellows at the Milk Bar tonight. I plan to show off my wedding mask and __talk about my sweetheart as best I can_.' Hmm, that last part sounds awfully sarcastic… Make sure you knock him over with your wind powers for me…" Vaati laughed and agreed that he would it she kept reading. Then, to make sure they weren't interrupted, he locked the door. That'd teach Kafei to make them do all of his work…

"Here's one from right after you got here… '_I found a man in the field outside of town today. He was badly injured, though I'm not sure what caused it. He seems to think it had something to do with his magic… It's been a while since anyone with magical powers of any sort came through town. There was Sheik of course… But as beautiful as this man is, nothing could ever come from it. I can't let Anju down, though I do need to think up an excuse before she asks about children again…_' He sure had a lot of faith back then…" Those were Vaati's thoughts exactly.

"And this was the very last one he wrote. '_I can't deny it anymore. The dreams have become too vivid to explain away. I'm attracted to Vaati; I may even love him. At the very least, I find myself wanting to pursue a relationship with him, though I don't know if I could do that to Anju… I never thought I'd find another man who could take Sheik's place, but perhaps Vaati will be the one. Now, if only I knew how he felt about me_.' …I'm guessing you already loved him by then, right?"

"I was well on my way," he admitted, not quite able to look her in the eyes. "I'd been attracted to him since I first opened my eyes after he saved me. I wasn't going to do anything back then, because we became friends, but once Tomo told me how Kafei felt… I couldn't help myself." Anju wore a sad smile at the admission, but it turned cheerful as he finally looked at her.

"Well, I'm glad you did. I never would have know about Kafei if you hadn't of—"

"Anju, Vaati? What are you two doing in there?" They jumped as they heard the doorknob rattle. Anju quickly snapped the lock shut and put the book back where she'd found it. He never had to know… Vaati unlocked the door, and the older man walked in, looking rightfully suspicious.

"Why did you two lock the door…?" Vaati valiantly stepped up with an excuse.

"You left us all alone to pack your stuff! Just thought we'd get even with you." Kafei hardly saw how that was '_getting even_' with him, but he accepted the answer regardless. Those two could be awfully silly after all…

"All right… But I'll have you know that you'll both be interested in knowing who that was…"

"Oh?" Anju asked, hoping she appeared innocent. "And who would that be?"

"Boo!" Anju swiftly crossed the room to Cremia, a wide smile on her face. Meanwhile, Romani rushed into the room and immediately started jabbering to Vaati about this and that. She was a welcome distraction from the work… Though he easily could have teleported things to his room, he had a feeling the others wouldn't like it was much… That's what Terminans got for being non-magical he supposed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kafei notice his diary. With widened eyes, he snatched it up and threw it in a box. Interesting… Then he caught Cremia looking at them oddly. Why…oh, right. They were in the middle of moving Kafei's things. It must be a strange sight…

"Hey, Vaati, what are you guys doing anyway? Isn't this Kafei's stuff?" Well…it seemed like now was the time for Romani to be added to the ever-growing list of people who knew about their relationship.

"Yes it is. He's going to be staying in my room from now on." Cremia's face took on a shocked expression, and she turned to Anju, who nodded with a small smile. At that, Cremia silently cheered. Her chance was finally here!

"Why?" the younger sister asked curiously. She already knew that he preferred men, so he hoped she'd be understanding with this too…

"You remember when I told you that I'm gay, right?" She nodded, still not understanding what that had to do with anything. "Well, you see… Kafei is my boyfriend. So Anju, Kafei, and I decided that it would be best if he stayed with me from now on." Her confusion only grew at that.

"Your boyfriend…? But… Kafei is married to Anju! So how can he be _your_ boyfriend?" The adults all shared a look, wondering what they should tell her… Kafei spoke up first.

"You've heard the rumors around town, correct? They aren't rumors. I'm like Vaati, and I made a mistake marrying Anju. I thought I could change, but I was wrong… And now that Anju knows that I love Vaati, she's letting us stay together. Do you understand?" She thought it over for a few seconds before nodding slowly.

"Yeah… You cheated on Anju." Well, she certainly was blunt, but at least she understood. "Does that mean you'll get divorced? What'll happen to the inn? What if Anju's mom finds out? You aren't leaving are you?!" The last question was mainly aimed towards Vaati, but it was Anju who responded.

"We'll get divorced eventually, but not yet. Hopefully we'll all just live in the inn… Though if my mother ever finds out…" She didn't want to think about that.

"Then I guess I can stop coming over here to help the lovebirds get more time alone and focus on more important things instead… Like taking you out shopping. Come on, finish this later and come out with me and Romani. What do you say?" Anju didn't see why not. They were due for a break, and it would keep her mind off from other things… She nodded, and Cremia thanked the guardians for finally giving her a chance at such a kind and beautiful creature.

"Alright, we'll take a break. You two should go out too, and we'll meet back here before dinner, okay?" Vaati and Kafei nodded, and it was settled. The inn would be closed for a while longer, which suited them fine. There was a place Vaati wanted to go anyway…

* * *

"How's the happy couple today?" Kafei snorted at his friend's teasing tone.

"We're fine thank you very much. Anju found out a few days ago and is fine with us being together… And so is my father, Cremia, Romani…"

"Elain," Vaati piped in.

"Yes, and Elain. We've been lucky… And I suppose I have you to thank for all this, hmm? Considering you told Vaati after I asked you not too…" Tomo just shrugged at the accusing tone.

"It was for the best… Hey, now that people know, you should come out drinking again. We've missed you at the bar." Taking Vaati to the bar…? No way. He knew how he was when he drank—the entire town would hear his confession before morning. Besides, the thoughts of some drunken man mistaking Vaati for a girl or a smashed hussy trying to seduce him made Kafei want to strangle someone.

"I don't think so. Vaati doesn't drink anyway." But bringing home some wine and getting his lover tipsy, now _that_ could be fun. He'd have to remember that…

"Yeah, I'm _sure_ that's the only reason." Kafei ignored him and Vaati decided to stay out of it. He still wasn't all that comfortable in big crowds anyway… Instead, they busied themselves with looking around the shop. Vaati hadn't been in since he first met Tomo, remembering Kafei's advice not to go without him. But now that he was there, there was interesting merchandise to look at…

Kafei wasn't all that impressed by the merchandise. A bag for carrying bombs in, a few bottles, other things that were obviously stolen… He watched Vaati ask about a sword on the wall, then pale when he heard the price. What he didn't know was that he was lucky Tomo was willing to sell it at all… His friend rarely offered to sell anything to races other than his own. Of course, since Vaati technically wasn't a Picori anymore… Still, seven hundred rupees was ridiculous. He'd seen him sell those stolen swords for a hell of a lot cheaper than _that_.

"Didn't you sell Link his sword back for _fifty_ rupees when he was around?" Tomo started in on inflation and quality of merchandise, only to have Kafei stare blankly at him in response. After a good minute of going on in that manner, Tomo sighed and shrugged.

"Fine, seventy-five, but only because this guy is getting you laid. Which you _really_ need sometimes." Kafei chose not to dignify that with a response, while Vaati blushed and got out his rupees. He was soon in possession of a beautifully crafted, sharpened silver blade. No doubt, it had belonged to someone with a lot of money _and_ power before it had been stolen.

Kafei was about to suggest that they go somewhere else before his old friend tried to cheat his lover out of more money, when something caught his eye. How…odd. Never had he seen anything like it before… He was strangely drawn to the item, despite not knowing exactly what they were. Why did they seem so familiar?

"How much do you want for those old needles?" That was something he'd learned a long time ago—appear neutral and Tomo would charge an outrageous price, but appear interested and you'd be paying with your firstborn child.

"Hell, I don't even know what those things are for… Probably some weapon, but I don't see how some measly needles would hurt anyone... A hundred and they're yours." Still a bit steep, but that was acceptable. He paid the rupees, said his thanks, then quickly ushered Vaati out of the shop. He held the needles carefully, thinking for a few minutes. Why was he so drawn to oversized needles…? He shook his head and then turned to his boyfriend, who was studying the sword in his hands with glee.

"Why ever would you need a sword with all of the magic you possess?" Vaati, who had seen more fighting than Kafei had, thought it was a silly question, but couldn't hold it against him for not knowing.

"Some creatures are immune to magic, and I like to keep my bases covered. Besides, I've always lacked physical strength… I should train more and hone my skills." He didn't mention that he'd been highly impressed by Link's swordsmanship; he didn't think Kafei really needed to know.

"I don't see why you'd need to train. Clock Town is safe, and there are barely any monsters in the wild now that the moon isn't falling." Again, Vaati didn't say what he was thinking—who knew what would happen when the whole town found out about them… Which they would, eventually. It was always best to be prepared. He'd protect Kafei no matter where they went…

"Just a whim I guess…" They walked the rest of the way to the inn in silence, Vaati wondering where he could find a holster, and Kafei trying to remember where he'd seem those blasted needles before…

* * *

Reaching the inn gave Kafei a sight he didn't often see two days in a row—his father. However, this time, the older man didn't seem very happy. Kafei could feel the anxiety building in the pit of his stomach…

"Father… Surely, mother must be involved this time." Dotour nodded gravely, then handed his son a letter.

"Yes, it's from her… I'm not sure what it's about, but judging by the way she insisted that you give me a response immediately, I can only assume that it's urgent. Though I don't know why she couldn't come herself, or why it had to be in a letter…" Kafei sighed and opened the pink envelope, mindful of the needles he still held. Dotour's eyes widened ever-so slightly at the sight of them, but he kept quiet as his son read.

"She wants me to meet her tonight at eight at the Milk Bar to discuss something…" He could only imagine what that might be, and none of them could possibly turn out well. "Tell her I'll be there. However, if she causes a scene, I'm leaving." Dotour nodded, his eyes wandering back down to his son's hands.

"I'll tell her… And, by the way… Where did you get those?" Kafei held up the needles, shooting him a confused look.

"These? I bought them at the Curiosity Shop today. They seem familiar, though I can't put my finger on it… Why, do _you_ know what they are?" He nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off from them.

"They're senbon—throwing needles. Certain races use them as weapons, though it takes high levels of speed and precision to use them effectively…" He trailed off, a faraway look in his eyes, then… "I must be going now. Good day son, Vaati." And with that, he quickly left them, not allowing Kafei to question his knowledge on the subject. How strange…

"Well, let's get inside and start making dinner. The bar is just down the street, but we still need to move everything to our room before we leave." Vaati, who was just as in the dark over the mayor's knowledge as Kafei, blinked at the last part.

"We? But she wanted to meet you…" Kafei unlocked the door and shot his boyfriend a slightly twisted smile.

"I know. But if this has anything to do with what I think it does, I want _you_ there too. And with as much as a gossip whore as she is, I'm almost certain I'm right…" Vaati wasn't so sure he wanted to face that woman again, but he swore he'd protect Kafei at all costs… Besides, if he had to turn her to stone, he doubted Kafei would mind.

* * *

After dinner, they moved the rest of Kafei's things and then left the girls to head out for the bar. Vaati was rather apprehensive, as he'd never been there, and besides, they were meeting Madame Aroma. He had a feeling that she didn't like him... At all.

"This is the place…" Vaati followed closely behind as Kafei pushed open the door and entered the bar. Looking around, it didn't seem _too_ bad… There was a stage, a bar with stools, various occupants… But the fact that he saw the woman they'd come to see wasn't helping his impression of the place any.

Shortly after they entered, they were stopped by someone Vaati had never seen before. He and Kafei shared a few words before the man stepped aside and let them enter. Kafei lead him farther into the bar before he finally spoke quietly.

"This place is rather weary about newcomers. They know me though, so you're fine." Of course, he was the mayor's son, and it sounded like his mom was a regular. How could they _not_ know him? Sometimes it was odd when he remembered that he was dating such a high-profile member of the town, but in a way, it made him proud. He'd chosen him over everyone else in the entire town after all.

"…What is _he_ doing here? I asked for _you_…" The sorcerer was jolted out of his thoughts at the annoyed voice. They'd gotten over to her by the bar without him even realizing. And she looked just as ridiculous as the last time he'd seen her.

"I know what you said, and you never said anything about coming alone. Either way, he's here now and not leaving. You can either say what you wanted to say or allow us to leave. It's up to you." She didn't look happy about it, but she nodded nonetheless. Kafei sat down next to her, and Vaati sat on his other side. No way was he getting close to _her_…

"There has been a fresh batch of rumors going around. They all involve you and _him_, as I'm sure you know. I'll cut right to the chase… These rumors are not good for the family's image. The mayor's son cheating on his wife with a strange looking man who came from only the Guardians know where… It doesn't matter if it's true or not; what _does_ matter is that everyone who gets around town _thinks_ it's true, and you have done _nothing_ to stop such rumors. You need to do something about it right away. Send out an official message, hold a meeting, _something_ to tell everyone that they're wrong and that you aren't really fornicating with…that thing. If you were cheating on Anju, I'd hope you'd pick a girl…and one who looked normal."

Kafei had to use every ounce of willpower he possessed to stop himself from doing something drastic. No, drawing attention to them wouldn't help Vaati… But there was no way he was letting _anyone_ get away with saying such things about the one that he loved. _No one_ messed with Kafei's man and got away with it…

"I'm fully aware of the rumors. And you should be very aware that _I don't care_. I don't care about the family's name or reputation. I couldn't care less if all of Termina thinks I love Vaati." He lowered his voice as he continued; the few other occupants didn't need to hear what he was about to say next. And he might damn them both, he knew, but he had to say it. "I can't stop the rumors because the truth can't be a rumor, can it? And don't worry about the adultery—Anju knows and we already plan on getting divorced soon. So no, I won't do a thing to make them think otherwise, because I'm getting sick of hiding anyway. You can deal with the rumors, or tell everyone that your son is gay yourself. I honestly don't care at this point."

He got up quickly, not fazed by the horrified look on her face. Good. Sometimes he couldn't stand her…

"Come on Vaati, we have no more to do here…" Vaati got up and started to follow him, completely silent. Kafei stopped once he got a look at his lover's face. How could he have been such an idiot? He wasn't done here yet! "And one last thing mother…." He reached out with incredible speed, grabbing the front of her undersized dress with his hands, a scowl on his face. "If you ever again insinuate that my lover is anything short of beautiful, I _will_ make you regret it. Mark. My. Words." With that, he let go and stalked out of the bar, Vaati only a step behind him.

The sad part was that the meeting went much smoother than he thought it would have.

"…You didn't have to do that." Kafei stopped in the middle of the street, spun on his heel, and…kissed Vaati with total disregard to the few people about that night.

"Yes I did," he murmured when they pulled back. "I love you Vaati, and I'm fed up with hiding it. Even if we have to leave Clock Town… So be it. I don't care anymore. And you don't deserve to be treated like that, especially by _her_. Even if the whole town knows by morning…"

"We'll face the dawn together," Vaati finished with a small smile, remembering the book he'd read in what felt like so long ago.

"Right. Now, let's go back to the inn. There's something I want to do…"

* * *

"I…I don't know. Are you sure? It hurt me…" Kafei firmly placed the bottle of oil in Vaati's hand and nodded.

"Yes, I'm positive. I'll deal with any pain in the morning. I know I had sex before I met you, but I've never actually been with anyone like _this_… I want you to be the first one, the only one." Vaati smiled at the very thought. When he thought about it, it was like he was taking Kafei's virginity…

And how could he say no to that?

"Okay, but tell me if I'm doing it wrong…"

As it turned out, Vaati fared no worse then the first time Kafei tried it. It was a rough start, but once they got a rhythm going, both were in heaven. Vaati couldn't believe how beautiful Kafei looked writhing beneath him, flushed and sweaty, trying to keep himself from moaning too loudly…

And when the time came for their climaxes, Vaati enveloped his lover's mouth in a kiss to muffle the cries and then reached down to bring Kafei over the edge with him. Even the afterglow was nothing short of perfect—especially since they now didn't have to worry about Anju crying in the next room as they had the first time. Though…

"If Romani heard us and questioned them about the noises, Cremia will kill us…" Vaati shrugged and laid against Kafei's chest, smiling when his lover's arms held him closer.

"I'll just teleport us away then. I'll never let you get hurt… I love you too much." Kafei moved tangled lavender locks away from that face he loved so much before pressing a kiss to his drowsy lover's forehead.

"Nor will I. I love you more than I'll ever love anyone else. Never forget that." Vaati murmured that he wouldn't, and Kafei said nothing else, as they were both beginning to drift off.

And it wasn't until he was seconds away from sleep before it hit him…

'_Sheik. Sheik had those needles…_'

* * *

Come morning…

"You perverts! Do you know how _loud_ you were? You're lucky Romani didn't know what you were doing, and you better hope she doesn't figure it out, because if you corrupt her, _so help me_—!"

Vaati did as he promised the night before and teleported them back to their room, where he then used his powers to lock the door. Cremia was _scary_ when she was mad…

"She's probably shocked to see us disappear," Kafei mused as he went to the dresser and started rummaging through his things, throwing a few in a small sack. Vaati smirked when he saw that his boyfriend had a slight limp that morning. "but it'll wear off soon. We should leave before that happens. Trust me, we don't want to be here at that point." Vaati nodded, glad that his powers were back at full strength. Women were _not_ people to be messed with…

"Where should we go then?" Kafei tied up the bag and smirked. He'd suspected this would happen the night before, so he'd had ample time to think it over already.

"Grab your sword. We're going to Termina Field."

* * *

They teleported outside the inn, then it was only a matter of minutes before they were out of town and in Termina Field. There might be hell to pay later, but really, Kafei didn't want to be around when the townsfolk heard what happened the night before. Whether someone had seen them kissing on the street or overheard what happened at the bar, their time of peace was almost guaranteed to be over… They might as well get one more day of relative peace before everything went to hell.

"There aren't many monsters out here, if any, but there are plenty of bushes you can practice on. I'm going over to those trees to see if I can get these," he held up the throwing needles that he'd been carrying in his bag, "to work right." Vaati gave his agreement, and they went to their respective training spots. Even if they weren't technically together, it was still comforting to know that the other was close by.

Vaati held out his sword, expecting the best. It was so lightweight and sharp—surely, it would be easy to wield, even when he'd never really used a sword before. He took a deep breath, aimed for a bush, swung, and…fell on his butt.

"Dammit," he swore, getting up and dusting himself off. "This will be harder than I thought…" Lifting the sword, he tried again…and got the same results. Why, he ought to just blast the bushes and—

'_No_,' he thought determinedly, '_no more shortcuts. I'll never get stronger if I don't practice. I saw Link use his sword enough, but he was trained… I obviously need to start out simpler…_'

Instead of spinning as he swung, he tried just hacking at the foliage…and it worked! Very pleased with himself, he did it again, and again, and again… When a shining red rupee was left underneath the last of the bushes, his eyes widened. Rupees… He remembered back to his childhood, when his family and neighbors would occasionally go out and hide rupees under the grass, bushes, rocks, whatever they could, so that the other, larger races could find them. The Picori were nothing if not helpful. But, how did they get here when there were no Picori…?

Or were there?

Suddenly, he started hacking away at as many bushes as he could. Maybe, just maybe, he'd find… But no. Not around there at least. He sighed and bent down to collect the rupees, which were mostly green other than two red ones. A few more patches like that and he'd have enough to repay for what he'd spent the day before. Still, he couldn't help but wish he'd found what he was looking for. Perhaps he'd just have a look around while Kafei was busy…

The older man, meanwhile, had found a large tree and was trying to decide how exactly the needles were supposed to be thrown. One at a time? All together? Underhanded? Overhanded? Sure, he now remembered that he'd seen Sheik take his own throwing needles from wherever he'd been hiding them during their one night together, but he'd never actually seen them used… The Sheikah—that had been the name of his people. That must have been the race his father had been talking about. But how would he have known about the Sheikah? Kafei had assumed that Sheik wasn't even from their world… Though seeing as neither Link nor Vaati were either, he supposed dimension traveling wasn't _that_ absurd. It still didn't explain his father's knowledge though…

'_Perhaps I'm thinking too much. He probably heard it from a traveler or something of the sort._' He finally decided to just throw the damn things and hope for the best… And he was surprised to find that throwing them seemed almost natural. Even more surprising was the fact that they all landed neatly together in a small group. '_He must not know what he's talking about if he thinks speed and precision are needed. Maybe the Sheikah possess_ _those qualities, but I certainly don't…_'

He walked to the tree and pulled his needles out, stunned by how far in they'd gone. They slid out after a few good tugs, and he could only imagine what they might have done if he'd thrown them at a monster… He wasn't too bad with them if he did say so himself.

'_I wonder how Vaati's doing… Wait, where did he go?_'

* * *

He had to wander quite some way, but then he saw it. A stump, and there was no doubt that there was a magical aura around it. Could it be…? And even if it was could _he_…? There was only one way to find out…

He stuck his sword in the ground for safekeeping and climbed up on the stump. He'd never actually done this before, but he'd read about how the Hylians had done it in ancient times, before the gate to the Picori world would only open every hundred years for them. But since this _wasn't_ his world, he had hope. If it worked, he'd have so many of his theories about how the worlds linked together confirmed, and if not…it would be back to the drawing board, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to try.

Without further delay, he began chanting the sacred words he'd learned so long ago. As he went on, he could feel the magic building around him. Then his body began to change. He was getting smaller, and his body structure was shifting… It was working! As he finished the song-like chant, the transformation was complete, and he was falling down. Luckily for him, there was a group of mushrooms that he safely bounced down upon until he landed on his feet. His tiny Picori feet.

"It worked!" he squeaked in a voice he hadn't heard in months. "I can turn into a Picori in this world, so our worlds are connected after all! I was right! I…" He looked down at himself as he felt a draft. "…I'm naked." Okay, so he hadn't gotten the spell exactly right, or his clothes would have shrunk too. Oh well, he'd figure it out eventually. Right now, he had to get back up there and turn back. No big deal… He could teleport after all.

…Unfortunately, even as he concentrated, he still didn't move from under the patch of mushrooms. So his powers disappeared in his original form… That was all right. He just needed to go outside and climb back up. Easy enough… Until he tried to get up and realized that his Picori body was _horribly_ out of shape. He couldn't get past a quarter of the way up before he slid back down to his butt. How frustrating… How was he supposed to change back if he couldn't get up there in the first place? He needed to get back to Kafei and tell him what he'd learned!

"Vaati, where are you?" …And that was his savior! Obviously, taking into consideration the day he'd arrived in this world, he could only get into trouble when he was in Termina Field. Thus, he made a note _never_ to go out there by himself again…

"Kafei, I'm down here!" Kafei didn't appear to hear as he kept walking.

"Vaati! Don't tell me you got lost…" Vaati was about to complain that he most certainly had _not_, when the older man noticed his sword sticking in the ground. That was the ticket! Vaati rushed over to his sword as quickly as his tiny legs could carry him. As Kafei bent down to take the sword, he began to hop up and down.

"Here I am! Please, help me up to that stump! I'm stuck like this otherwise!" Kafei stopped as he saw a tiny purple blob bouncing on the ground and squeaking in a language he didn't understand. What was it…? And…was it naked? He noticed his lover's clothes lying in a pile next to a stump and shook his head.

"Vaati, what have you done _now_?" He scooped up what was no doubt his lover and got a good look at him. His skin tone, eye color, and hair were the same, though his face was longer and his body was pudgy, with short limbs and long digits. This must be what his Picori form looked like… It was cute. Very odd, but cute nonetheless. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Ikuriki!" Ikuriki? What was _that_ supposed to mean? Luckily, Vaati realized that without a jabber nut, his lover wasn't going to understand him. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard to get out words in anything other than Picori. He had to try though… "St-stuampu," he struggled to say, waving his little arm towards the stump. "Stuampu!" Luckily, Kafei's eyes widened in understanding.

"The stump. You want to go on the stump?" Vaati nodded happily and hugged Kafei's thumb. With a chuckle, he walked over to the stump and carefully set his lover down. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he had a feeling he'd be finding out soon… And sure enough, seconds later Vaati began singing in a high-pitched tone, and his body began to glow. Soon he was changing—he was getting taller and slimmer, changing from a Picori to a human. It was an amazing sight, to say the least.

"Finally," Vaati sighed once the transformation stopped. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come help me…" Kafei just stared until Vaati realized something very important. Mainly, he was still naked. But rather than blush, he smirked and stretched languidly, enjoying the sight of his lover's eyes taking him in carefully. "Like what you see?"

"Of course…but you should still get dressed in case someone else comes around. I don't want anyone else seeing what's _mine_." Good point. He didn't want an audience… He was dressed in a flash, then decided to attempt to answer all of Kafei's questions before they could be asked and save them both some time.

"I wanted to see if I could still turn into a Picori, which, obviously, I can. I believe this means that our worlds share a common link, though I'm not sure what that might be yet. You said you thought Sheik and Link were from another world too, which only further convinces me. But we'll have to look into that later…" Kafei opened his mouth, but Vaati wasn't done yet. "I messed up the chant somewhere, so my clothes didn't shrink, it's hard to speak anything but Picori when I'm like that because our tongues aren't meant to shape other words, and I lose my powers when I'm a Picori it seems. Anything else?" Kafei thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, I think you covered it. Though I agree that you're onto something. We should go to the library and see what they have on Ancient Terminian history. Maybe we can find something out…" And it would keep them away from the inn for a while longer, though he didn't add that.

"There's a library in Clock Town?" He chuckled at his lover's shocked look. To think he'd been with them for what seemed like so long and yet he'd barely seen any of the town… And who knew if he'd _ever_ get the chance to see it all.

"Yeah, just grab your sword and follow me. I'm curious about all of this too." Vaati did as he was told and together they walked back to town. If they were right about the universes and figured out how to move between them…who knew how it could change their lives?

* * *

It was nighttime before they returned to the inn with armfuls of books. It was a good thing they were fast readers, or it might have taken them a year to get through them all. Having been gone all day, they were met with one highly worried woman and one very ticked-off woman.

"Where have you two been?"

"Where did you two run off to?" Luckily, the same answer could be given to both of them.

"We went out to Termina Field for a while, and then we went to the library. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a lot of research to conduct…" Anju peered at the books in their arms, a confused expression on her face.

"History of Termina? Termina Through the Ages? Whatever do you need those for?"

"It's a long story, but mainly we think that the world Vaati came from, the world Link came from, and this world are somehow connected; possibly others as well. We aren't sure how though…" Anju and Cremia exchanged looks, then nodded. It was an odd thought, but after the moon incident, nothing seemed impossible.

"All right, we understand… Oh, and your mother stopped by earlier and left you a letter. She didn't say anything else though." Kafei reluctantly took it, and then turned back towards the stairs, Vaati at his heels. That was easy and painless… Unfortunately, he had a feeling that whatever was in the letter would make up for it.

They entered their room—they still liked the fact that it was _their_ room now instead of just Vaati's room—put the books on the end of the bed, then got comfortable at the headboard. First thing was first though… Kafei took the letter out of the pink envelope and began to read.

'_Dear son, though I am less than pleased at your attitude to your affair, I shall not allow you to throw your future away. I paid off everyone at the bar, as well as everyone who claims to have seen you kissing outside. You shouldn't be so reckless! I don't care if you want the whole town to know or not—I will __**not**__ allow you to ruin this family's name. Next time, think about what you're doing before you do it. Good day_.' He snorted as he finished reading. Soon, the letter was crumpled up and thrown across the room into the wastebasket. "What a pompous witch. If she thinks she can run my life, she is sadly mistaken…"

Vaati looked at the books on the bed, to his lover, then to the wastebasket. Though Kafei liked to pretend it didn't bother him, he could see that it did. No matter what the other Picori had done, at least his family had loved him. Madame Aroma didn't seem to care at all though… Cheering up the older man immediately became his number one priority.

"Don't worry about her. She obviously has no interest in telling anyone, so it's up to us when they all find out. And if we're right about this and things turn out badly, we can go somewhere else where no one will ever know us. No matter what happens though, I won't let you go through this alone. And don't you forget it." Kafei's upset look vanished and was replaced with a smile. As he'd wondered so many times before, so again did he wonder how he'd gotten so lucky as to have Vaati in his life.

"Don't worry, I won't… But if we want that plan to work, we need to start reading. Ready?" Vaati agreed as he grabbed a book for each of them and they settled down to read. If there was anything in the books to help them, they'd find it sooner or later.

They just hoped it was sooner rather than later.


	13. Chapter 12

Kismet—Chapter Twelve

by taitofan

Rated R for yaoi, sexual content, hits of yuri, and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Well… I _realllly_ didn't expect this to happen so quickly, but it'll be more interesting this way. This arc of sorts isn't long, and it'll only be a few more chapters. You'll probably know at least part of the secret by the end of this chapter, but I haven't given away everything! I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve and plenty of story to tell. This chapter gets a bit technical at the end, and I thank Zelda Wiki for some of the information. And I'm sure most of you will get the little inside joke… Just don't try to fight with me over my opinions on it, cause it's just that—my opinion. Other than that… I can only say thanks for staying with me for so long!

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 07-13-07

* * *

Three days later, things were going just as slowly as they'd ever been. Cremia and Romani had left, and to their knowledge, Cremia hadn't done a thing to confess her love for Anju. Anju had taken to reading in her free time again, and Kafei and Vaati spent the days taking advantage of the freedom their relationship had within the inn's walls as well as going through all the history books. They hadn't made much progress there either though. 

"…Have you found anything about the Sheikah?" Vaati looked up from the book he was reading and shook his head. They were currently at the front desk, while Anju was up in her room.

"No, no one has even mentioned them. You say Sheik isn't from this world though, so it's possible that the race never even existed here. I never heard of them in my world either… And if they did, surely _someone_ would have heard of them."

"That's just it," Kafei sighed as he flipped the page in his own book, "I was thinking about what my father said about the throwing needles... I finally remembered where I'd seen them. Sheik had some just like mine. I believe the race he mentioned was the Sheikah, though I have no idea how he knows about them when no one else does." Vaati wasn't sure what to say to that. It was rather curious. Maybe… No, that couldn't be. …Could it?

"You said that Sheik had red eyes, right?" Kafei nodded, shooting him a look that clearly asked what that had to do with anything. "Well, your parents don't have red eyes, but you do. No one else I've seen in Clock Town does either."

"What exactly are you getting at?" Kafei questioned, honestly in the dark.

"Oh… Nothing. You should just ask your father I guess." He didn't mention the fact that Kafei looked nothing like his mother. It was just a silly thought anyway. "Let's just keep reading for now."

* * *

After another two days, they'd gone through all of the books. Nowhere did it mention other universes or the Picori and Sheikah races. They were still positive that they were right though. The information must be out there somewhere… 

"We need to go take these book back to the lib—"

"I'll go with him!" Kafei raised an eyebrow, wondering how Anju had managed to sneak up on them. "I want to see what they have anyway."

"You mean you're running out of rupees to buy so many books?" She ignored him and continued.

"While we're gone, you can handle doing the laundry, can't you? Thanks! Come on Vaati, let's go!" Before he could say anything, Anju scooped up half of the books and was out the door. Vaati shrugged in response, grabbed the rest, and took off after her, leaving Kafei all alone. Oh, so _that's_ how it was… He knew she'd get her revenge somehow. After all, she knew very well that he _hated_ doing laundry. It was just like how Anju stayed away from the kitchen.

"Well, I'll show her…" After flipping the sign on the door to '_Knock for service_,' he made his way to the laundry room. She was no doubt hoping he'd screw up, but he'd prove her wrong. He could do this, he knew he could. "…Dammit."

The laundry room had clothes _everywhere_. Some were on the floor, some looked folded, some _kind of_ looked folded…how was he supposed to know which were clean? He supposed he could smell them… But if Anju thought he was about to sniff her clothes, she was sorely mistaken. Now, his own and Vaati's were different… In the end, he decided just to do the ones he knew were dirty. They couldn't take too long at the library after all, and he could ask Anju once she was back. Or claim he had to cook and make _her_ do it. That sounded good…

He gathered up the clothes from the floor and set them in the washing machine. He still had some room left though. What else…? He looked at the clothes that looked mostly folded. Surely, even if they _were_ clean, it wouldn't hurt to wash them again… So in they went. A little more room… A set of deep purple and red clothing caught his eye. That was the outfit he'd first found Vaati in. Thinking back, he remembered how good the outfit looked on him. It looked out of place in Clock Town, but the whole town already thought he was odd… He threw the outfit in, hoping he could get his lover to wear it later.

Then went in the laundry soap. He wasn't sure how much was needed, but he thought a cup would do… The cover was then shut, and it was time to set the dials. There were a lot, so heavy duty sounded good… Then he pressed the start button and smiled in triumph.

'_Take __**that**__ Anju…_'

* * *

It was about an hour later when Anju and Vaati returned. They were surprised to see that Kafei wasn't at the desk when they entered… Anju set down the books she'd gotten on the desk and motioned for the sorcerer to follow her. First they checked the kitchen—no luck. Then the dining room—nope. She didn't think that he could still be doing laundry, but… Sure enough, there he was, standing with his back to them and holding something in his hands. 

"Kafei, whatever are you doing?" He jumped at her voice and spun around, guiltily putting whatever he had behind his back.

"Oh, hello you two. You're back so soon…" Anju looked over to Vaati to see if he found anything off about the situation, only to find him staring intently at Kafei.

"…What's that behind your back?" Kafei attempted to look innocent, but it was never a look he'd been all that good at.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Vaati took at step forward, only for his lover to take a step back. Okay, if that was how he wanted to play… He phased out and teleported directly behind Kafei.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "That's my outfit! And it's in shreds! What did you _do_ to it?" Anju clicked her tongue and shook her head. He was so challenged when it came to these things…

"Oh Kafei, you didn't even bother to look at what you were putting in, did you? How many buckles made it into the wash? You put it on heavy too I'll bet, even though that material is delicate… And how much of our white clothing is pink now?" Kafei laughed nervously, finding the floor particularly interesting.

"No, three, yes, and quite a few. They were yours at least. You like pink…" The looks he received told him that was hardly the point. "I didn't know the buckles would cut up the material! You should have told me before you left!"

"Vaati's clothes weren't dirty though. They were folded."

"Well, you didn't do a very good job folding them."

"At least I know how to!"

"So do I!"

"…"

"Okay, so no, no I don't…"

While they bickered like a pair of children—he could only imagine what they'd sounded like when they really were kids—Vaati thought about the situation. Though he'd been quite content with the clothes he'd gotten from Kafei, abundance of frills and all, he still adored his original human outfit. He had wished himself back in it after all. And now that he didn't have it, he really felt the urge to wear it… His powers wouldn't fix shredded cloth and silk though. No, there was only one other option…

"Anju, do you have a sewing machine?" She stopped her argument with Kafei and thought for a few seconds.

"Um… I think Grandma has one in her room in storage. Kafei and I can't sew though, and I don't think that's repairable…"

"It's okay," he assured her, a thoughtful look on his face. "I have another idea in mind… I'll see you two later." He phased out again seconds later, leaving them alone with only one question on their minds…

"Where did he go?" Kafei looked at the destroyed material in his hands and sighed. Good question…

* * *

Half an hour later, Vaati materialized back into the inn, and went straight up to his room. He was pleased to see a sewing machine set on the desk. Good, good… He turned around to put the bag he was holding on the bed, only to see that it was already littered with various things—all Kafei's things. Whatever had he been doing in the short time he'd been out…? 

He didn't have to wait long to find out. The door opened seconds later, and Kafei walked in, something clenched in his hand. Whatever it was, he'd never seen it before…

"What's in your hand?" Kafei tightened his grip and evaded the question with his own.

"Where did you go? And what's in your bag?" Vaati mentally sighed in frustration. He knew he should have said something instead of just leaving like that, but _really_. He could take care of himself… The worst that had happened was that people had stared at him and whispered to each other as he passed them. Nothing new there…

"I remembered seeing a tailor on the way to the bookshop, so I went there and bought this." He reached into the bag and pulled out fine material in rich shades of purple, red, and yellow. "It was expensive, but I can have my old outfit again, and this time I intend to wear it no matter how much I stick out. It's not like the whole town doesn't notice me when I step out in the latest fashions anyway…" Kafei watched him set the fabric and buttons and string and everything else he'd bought on the desk by the sewing machine. Was he really going to…?

"If you were at the tailor's shop, then why not just have it commissioned instead? Surely, you don't know how to…" The amused look Vaati wore made him trail off. "Or do you?"

"Ezlo, my teacher, used to tear his clothes all the time," he explained, smiling at the memory. "For all that he could do, working a needle and thread was _not_ one of them, so I learned to hand sew at an early age. We didn't have sewing machines, but the restaurant my family lived above had a home connected to it. The human mother had one and I used to watch her when I was bored. I'm sure I can handle it…and if not I'll do it by hand. Either way, I'll get it done."

Vaati had never mentioned that before…though he supposed the need had never come up. Still… With everything he'd done that even his teacher couldn't do, how could he have thought he was useless? No doubt the other Picori had made fun of his more…domestic qualities. Kafei could certainly sympathize. If he hadn't been the mayor's grandson back in his childhood, he had a feeling he would have faced the same ridicule.

"…I'm sorry I destroyed your clothes in the first place." Vaati cocked his head to the side, confusion showing in his bright red eyes.

"It wasn't your fault. It's not like you meant to… So don't worry about it; I'm not mad." No, he supposed it was foolish of him to believe he'd done something to upset Vaati, but still… He held out the item in his hand for Vaati to see.

"I got this from my grandmother when I was five, right before she died. She said it was called the Pendant of Memories, and that I should give it to the one I wanted to spend forever with… The memories of love from each person who owns it are supposedly kept within it… Not that I believe it, but it was her last gift and I couldn't just disregard it. I used to wear it all the time until I was turned into a child. I gave it to Link to give to Anju so she'd know I was all right. I…couldn't wear it after I turned back and she returned it though. She didn't know the meaning behind it, but I did, and it never sat right. But…" He held it out further. "I do want to spend forever with you, so please accept it."

Vaati didn't know what to say. Sure, he already knew that Kafei wanted to stay with him, but this seemed so…concrete, giving him something that obviously meant so much to him. And since the words escaped him, he merely accepted the pendant. It was…odd looking—like a blue and bronze scarab. But still…it had its charm. And more than anything, it came from Kafei.

"Will you help me put it on?" Kafei smiled and moved behind his lover. He moved the long lavender strands away from his neck, then took the pendant and fastened the chord around his neck.

"There, perfect." A kiss followed, and Anju had to stop herself from squealing, lest she be caught spying on them. She'd only gone up to see where Vaati had gone, honestly, but after she'd started watching, she just couldn't stop. She hadn't even felt sad or bitter when she'd heard Kafei talking about the pendant… She just thought it was sweet that he wanted to give it to Vaati after he'd had it for so long.

Suddenly, life was really looking up.

* * *

After a rather hectic start, the rest of the day went by smoothly. Vaati, after thoroughly kissing his lover, kicked Kafei out of the room, claiming that he had to work in silence. Having the powers to enforce it, he got his way. It all worked out though… Kafei and Anju got the chance to catch up. 

"…You're not just pretending are you?" Anju, for once, was sitting behind the front desk while _Kafei_ was on top of it. She sat down her book and shook her head—she didn't even need to ask to what he was referring.

"No. To tell you the truth, I kind of…like seeing you two together. It's…" She paused, remembering the scene upstairs. "…hot."

"Hot?" Kafei repeated in confusion. They hadn't done anything in front of her that he considered _hot_. Unless… "Have you been spying on us lately perchance?" She giggled nervously. _Busted_…

"Well, I wasn't _trying_ to. I just, sort of, couldn't look away once I saw it." He smirked at that—she really _was_ turning out to be a pervert.

"Voyeur." ...The war was on. Maybe neither of them had control over the wind, but there was still a way to settle this… With a good old-fashioned tickle fight.

Though they'd later argue as to who had won, any impartial observers would've agreed that Anju had the clear advantage.

* * *

It wasn't until dinnertime that either of them heard from the sorcerer again. 

"It's time to eat," Kafei called through the locked door. Sure, he had a key, but he had a feeling that magic would get involved if he tried that.

"I'll be down in a few minutes." The buzz of the sewing machine had stopped after being heard all afternoon and evening long, so he hoped that Vaati had finished. He wasn't sure how long making an entire outfit would take of course, but he assumed it wouldn't take _that_ long.

"Still working?" Anju questioned when he reached the dining room. He sat down in his usual spot and nodded.

"He said he'll be down soon." …And sure enough, five minutes later, the dining room door opened. They both looked up—Anju smiled and clapped appreciatively, while Kafei wondered why ever the people of his old world hadn't _begged_ him to rule them. The last time he'd seen him in that, the situation had hardly been good for any aesthetic appreciation. Things were different now though, and he took his time thanking the guardians that such a lovely, exotic creature was his.

"Your jaw is going to drop off in your lap," Anju giggled, poking him in the arm with her fork. His jaw didn't move, so she spoke to Vaati instead, "You're very talented! Only a professional could do that so quickly. But… It doesn't _quite_ look the way it did before…"

"No," he admitted, "not exactly. I needed to add a sheath for my sword, and I made a few modifications to the lengths…" His old outfit, though it had grown when he did, hadn't had the same proportions that the original had had to his younger body. This one was closer in that respect. The colors weren't quite as bright either, though he'd grown too fond of the purples and reds to change them too much. The good part was that Kafei hadn't had his belt, shoes or hat to destroy, and thus he had the originals of those. His new cape was a bit longer too—no real reason why, he just thought it looked better. Plus, now he was sporting his new pendant. "I take it that you like it Kafei?"

Kafei didn't say anything. Instead, he got up, crossed the room, and yanked the sorcerer, who fully looked the part, to him. Lips were suddenly on lips, and that was all the answer Vaati needed. Anju watched the scene in fascination. This was the first time they been so physical while they knew she was there. It meant that her words had gotten through to Kafei. That was good, because she _really_ liked watching it.

And as Kafei continued to show his approval to his boyfriend's new look, dinner was more or less forgotten for all three of them.

* * *

"I don't see why we need to do this tonight. It's not like anyone will see me." Kafei had insisted they go out for a bit, admitting that he just wanted to see Vaati walking around town in his sorcerer's outfit. "Why do you like it so much anyway?" Kafei couldn't seem to tell him the real reason—that he could see how Vaati could have tried to rule the world wearing that. He looked…stronger somehow. It emitted dominance. Vaati was always beautiful, but dressed like that he looked downright sexy. 

"Oh, I don't know. It just suits you." Vaati somehow knew that Kafei wasn't telling him the truth, but he let it go. "Besides, like you said earlier, our only other chance for answers seems to be my father. My mother should be at the bar by now, so we won't have to deal with her. It's the perfect time." No Aroma? Yeah, that _did_ sound good.

"Why are you so interested in finding out about the links between the worlds anyway? Not that I mind… It's kind of nice not being alone in this."

"Well, you want to see Ezlo again, don't you? …That was your teacher's name, right?" Vaati nodded to both questions. He did want to see Ezlo, yes. He needed to show his old master how he'd changed, how he had found someone to love and who loved him in return. But he couldn't do that until he found a way back… Ezlo had seemed to think it was possible. Did he know more than he'd been letting on…? "We're here." His thoughts were broken as they reached their destination. So this was Kafei's old home… It certainly looked like a place where the mayor's family would live, that was certain.

Kafei knocked on the door, and they waited for a few minutes with no sign that they'd been heard. He knocked again—harder this time. Still, there was no answer. He knew his father was there—the lights were still on. One last time he tried, but the results were the same. Fed up, he went to open the door, only to find it was locked. Now he was getting frustrated. The lights were off in the public section of the house where his mayoral office was, so it would do no good to go in that way… Luckily, he had a plan B. He reached in his pocket and took out an old looking key. Vaati could only assume it was an old house key that he'd never returned for whatever reason. And sure enough, the lock clicked, and Kafei smirked triumphantly.

"Father, where are you? I know you're here…" Vaati looked around the house as Kafei led them around looking for Dotour. It was certainly a nice house… He suddenly stopped once they reached the living room. "Vaati, what are you—oh." The sorcerer was staring at various pictures on the wall of the family through the years. Dotour had always been scrawny, Aroma had always worn her clothes a few sizes too small, and Kafei…

"I don't care much for most children, but you were pretty cute…" He spotted one where Kafei looked about twelve or thirteen and pointed it out. "Is that what you looked like when you got turned into a child?" Kafei nodded, remember when that picture had been taken. He'd wanted to go play with Anju and Cremia, but his mother had insisted that he stay inside and get his pictures taken since '_You need to keep lots of pictures of yourself for future reference! You'll be mayor one day, and you never know when it might be useful! Now stop scowling at me and smile!_' He still thought she was crazy, but it looked like they were coming in handy for other reasons.

"Yes, just like that. Well, my clothes were different of course, but even my haircut was the same." Vaati smiled and began following his boyfriend again as they returned to their search. He could help but imagine the two of them in their faux-younger forms now that he knew what Kafei had looked like. It was oddly arousing… But he couldn't keep thinking like that for too long, as Kafei stopped short. Looking ahead, Vaati could see that they'd reached a study of sorts. Books lined multiple bookshelves, there was a desk littered with paper, ink, and quills, and leaning over the desk, clearly asleep, was Dotour.

"What should we do?" Vaati questioned quietly. Kafei looked at his sleeping father for a few minutes before taking a few steps further…

"Wake up!" Dotour jolted awake as his son yelled in his ear, a few papers flying to the floor at the sudden movement. Vaati stood in the doorway, blinking. Well, that was _one_ way to do it…

"Son? What are you doing here?" Kafei decided to get right to the point. He _knew_ that his father had answers, and he _wasn't_ leaving until he got them.

"You know about the Sheikah. I _know_ you do. Now tell me what you know or I'll stand here all night long and pester you until you decide to cooperate." Dotour raised a thin brow at the odd threat, but rather than say anything, he stood up and walked over to one of the bookshelves. He immediately reached for two books and took them down. One looked very old, while the other, while still older looking, seemed quite new compared to the other. He handed the books to Kafei, who went to open one, only to have his father slap his hand away.

"No, not here! Aroma could come back any second! I knew this would happen one day… Just take those back to the inn. Read the one on the top first. Don't even open the other one until you're done, all right? Promise me Kafei; it's very important!" Kafei couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his father look so determined… He had no choice but to agree.

"All right, I promise. And you're sure I'll know more about the Sheikah after I read this?" Dotour nodded, suddenly not able to meet his son's eye.

"That and more, I assure you…" There were a few moments of silence, when the sound of a door suddenly filled their ears. "No… Aroma is home. You must leave quickly… Don't let her see those books!" Kafei and Vaati shared a confused look, but the sorcerer nodded and grabbed his lover's arm. Seconds later, they vanished. Dotour didn't look at all surprised, as everyone else had when they first witnessed his powers. He merely sat down and waited…

"Dotour, where are you?"

"In my study dear." Luckily, she hated books and never went near the room if at all possible. She _certainly_ never looked around.

"Oh. Well, I'm going to bed." He waited until her footsteps went up the stairs and disappeared from hearing range. Only then did he pick up another book from his desk and open it to reveal and old, worn photograph. He smiled sadly at it, his mind wandering to happier days…

'_You'll know more than you ever thought possible very soon my boy… I just hope you understand…_'

* * *

Vaati and Kafei reappeared in their room, the books still safely in Kafei's hands. The oldest book was the one he was told to read first. It was getting late… But he knew he couldn't sleep wondering what was so important within the two pieces of literature. No, he needed to do this _tonight_. He gave the younger book to Vaati, then sat down on the bed. 

"Don't let me read that one until I'm done with this. My father seemed very serious about that point… I should probably listen this time." Vaati agreed and put it on the bedside table, then sat beside his lover. He was curious about all of the secrecy too…

Kafei opened the book to the first page. It appeared to be a table of contents. Everything was handwritten in black ink, and the style looked as old as the book itself. Scanning it, it seemed to be a book of different races. Zora, Goron, Deku, Hylian, Oocca, Gerudo, Rito, Korok, Twili, Watarara, Human, Fairy, Kokiri, many others he'd heard and never heard of… But two came to his attention. Sheikah and Picori.

First, he flipped to the section on the Picori. He was met with a sketch of what he assumed was a Picori, though it had looked much different than Vaati. It was colored to have a normal skin tone, rosy cheeks, and black eyes. It wore a little red hat and green clothes made from what looked like leaves. It was, however, as pudgy as Vaati had been, and its limbs and digits were similar. It had a feathery looking tail that Vaati hadn't had though.

"That's a forest Picori," Vaati explained, sensing his lover's confusion. "They live in the forest, as the name suggests. There are town and mountain Picori too. I'm a town Picori, which is why I don't have a tail. But before you ask, I was the only one with skin, eyes, and hair like this. Well, the only Picori _I_ ever saw at least."

"I see… Everything it says here mirrors what you've told me before… Except at the end it says '_World Code MC_.' Do you have any idea what MC stands for?" Vaati shook his head. It didn't sound familiar…

"World code… Maybe this book is confirming the existence of other worlds…" He flipped the page to Rito, which had a picture of a person who looked like a cross between a human and a bird. Its world code was WW. Going back to Hylian, it had seven codes, and Human had eight. Various races lead them to believe there were eight codes in all. The only ones that seemed of any importance at the moment were MC and MM, as they contained the races that Vaati and Kafei could identify. They could only assume that those were their worlds.

And then it was time… Kafei flipped to the section on the Sheikah and was met with a somewhat familiar image. The gender was hard to discern, as the person depicted was very muscular, but with an effeminate face. Their face was covered by a wrapping much like Sheik had worn. Their skintight clothes bore a symbol of an eye with a teardrop, also as he remembered from Sheik. In their right hand were senbon, just like his. A quick look at the bottom of the page confirmed the world code as OoT.

"The Sheikah," Kafei began to read aloud, "are an ancient race found natively in only one of the known worlds. They are incredibly agile and posses magical powers to rival the Hylians. They were once the protectors of the Hyrulean royal family, but after a great war filled with betrayal, all but a few fled their world to seek refuge in other lands. The most distinguishing characteristic of the Sheikah are their red eyes; they are the only known race to possess this unique color. After fleeing their world, many Sheikah interbreed with other humanoid races. The hybrid children also possess red eyes if they were born with the powers of the Sheikah within them."

Kafei stopped, thinking about that. He and Vaati had red eyes though. Was the book outdated, or were they…? He looked over to Vaati, only to find him in a similar state of confusion. There must be more to it than that… But the book said no more about the Sheikah. Kafei supposed that was his cue to look at the other book. Almost on cue, Vaati handed him the book. They were too far to turn back now…

Kafei opened to the first page and gasped.


	14. Chapter 13

Kismet—Chapter Thirteen

by taitofan

Rated R for yaoi, sexual content, hits of yuri, and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: I'm an awful person to make you all wait so long, and I apologize. But to make up for it, here's a very plot-driven chapter! Lots happens, and the stage is set for lots more. A note about the end…I'm not a music buff, so I might not have the terminology and technique down perfectly, but hopefully it's understandable. I'd also like to point out that this fic is now over a year old. I thank everyone who has stuck by me as I've written this! I'm determined to see this through to the end, so let's see how far the new year brings us!

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-01-08

* * *

It was a photo album in the shape of a normal book. And considering that the very first picture was of a beautiful woman, Kafei could see why his father had disguised it. He peeled back the protective covering and took the picture out. On it was her name and the date in his father's handwriting—Kakoli and twenty-five years ago. It wasn't the fact that his father had a picture of another woman that shocked him though, it was how she _looked_.

She had long violet hair, only a few shades lighter than his own. She had red eyes and wore the symbol of the Sheikah on the sleeve of her outfit. And her face…

"She…looks like you." Kafei didn't answer, as he was too busy putting the picture back and flipping the page. The next few pages consisted of Kakoli by herself or with his father. It was obvious that they were very close… Then, on the seventh page, he saw the photo that changed everything…

With shaking hands, he removed the picture and read the back.

_Kakoli, myself, and our new son, Kafei._

Dated on the day of his birth.

There was no doubt that the baby was him. The same eyes, a little tuft of dark purple hair, the same basic face structure… Aroma wasn't his mother. This Sheikah woman, Kakoli, _she_ was his real mother. How had he never known about it? Did anyone else know? Surely, _someone_ must. So why had no one ever told him? He wasn't the man he thought he was for twenty-three years; he wasn't even _human_. He was half-Sheikah.

That explained his eyes, his feelings of being different from the rest of the town, his attraction to Sheik, his innate knowledge of using the senbon… Did that mean he was capable of using magic as well? The book said that hybrid children only had red eyes if they had Sheikah power in their veins… What kind of magic did the Sheikah even possess?

There was only one person who was going to know the answer, and Kafei had a bone to pick with him.

Vaati was thinking similar thoughts when he noticed that his lover was quickly heading towards the door. Without a second thought, he manipulated the wind and brought a struggling Kafei back to him. Half-Sheikah or not, he'd never had any training, and Vaati could still easily overpower him. Kafei didn't look happy at that.

"Let me go! I'm going to find out why he's been lying to me!" Vaati sighed and yanked Kafei back on the bed, tutting softly.

"Not tonight you're not. It's late, and I'm sure he's asleep by now, like most of the town. We'll go tomorrow. You need to digest all of this information before you do anything rash. I'm sure there's a good reason why they never told you." And he planned to find out more about that book too. He knew his parents were both Picori, so how did his eyes fit in with what the book had said?

"Fine… It's not like you'll let me leave anyway…" Vaati smiled slightly at Kafei's sullen tone. He knew it must be hard for him to know that the answers to his questions were so close but just out of reach, but he'd manage.

"No, not tonight. Tonight we're going to sleep." He suddenly felt Kafei's hand settle on his thigh. "That's not sleeping."

"No," Kafei admitted, "not quite. But you've been walking around in that outfit all day long, driving me crazy. And the only thing I can think of that would look better is if it was on the floor…" …Well, they _were_ a young couple in love…

"Then why don't you take it off with that amazing speed you supposedly possess and we'll see _just_ how good it looks on the floor."

Needless to say, Vaati kept Kafei's mind off his family secrets for the rest of the night.

* * *

"You guys are really in your honeymoon phase, aren't you?" Vaati and Kafei looked up from breakfast and gave Anju identical confused looks. "Cremia was right; you two are _loud_…"

They wisely decided it would be best not to comment on that.

"Where were you two last night anyway?"

"We went to see my father," Kafei explained, wondering how much he really wanted her to know right now… "He gave me some books to borrow, and Vaati and I need to return them this morning. You don't mind if we take off after breakfast, do you?" If Anju sensed that she wasn't being told the entire truth, she didn't say anything.

"Oh, okay. If you really need to return it right away, then you shouldn't keep him waiting…" Kafei thanked her for understanding, and all the while, Vaati watched the two interacting. She was right—now that they had their relationship out in the open, for the most part, they'd been leaving quite often… But Anju didn't know the whole story, and Kafei obviously wasn't ready to tell her. What would he do once they talked to his father and got their answers? What if they _did_ find a way to travel between the different worlds? So many questions, and quite honestly, he had no answers to any of them.

* * *

"Let us in, it's important." Vaati stood off to the side holding the books as Kafei argued with someone—a secretary perhaps?—about getting in to see Dotour.

"I'm sorry, but the mayor said he'd be busy all day long!" Kafei ignored her and went for the door, only to find that it wouldn't open. "It's locked. I'm sorry, but I can't make any exceptions, even for family. He said he wasn't to be disturbed by _anyone_!" He paused, a frown one his face as he stared at the locked door. Then, it hit him.

"Vaati, teleport us in." The sorcerer nodded and walked closer until he could touch Kafei's shoulder. Then, before the bewildered girl could ask what they were talking about, they were gone.

They reappeared only a few feet away, but on the other side of the door. Dotour was sitting on the oddest looking chair Vaati had _ever_ seen, and in his hand was a picture frame that neither man could see the front of. He didn't look up from it once they entered. It was almost as if he'd expected it.

"Son… I knew I'd be seeing you today. I almost expected to see you come in the middle of the night yesterday. I suppose I have your lover to thank for the night's rest?" If that was his idea of a joke, Kafei wasn't laughing.

"Yes, if I'd had my way, I would have come right after I saw the photo album." He held out his hand, and Vaati gave it to him, keeping the other book for himself. Kafei flipped through the pages, seeing the beautiful woman on every page. "This woman in the pictures, Kakoli, she's my mother, isn't she?" Dotour could only nod. "And she's a Sheikah…" It wasn't a question, but he nodded again regardless. "You have ten seconds to tell me why you lied to me for twenty-three years, or I'll let Vaati turn you to stone." It wasn't an idle threat; Dotour knew it. He'd always known Kafei would be angry when he learned the truth…but it had been for the best. Now he just had to make him see that.

"Your mother… You must have read about the war in the other book. She was in that war, though she wasn't very old. Something of a hero from what she'd tell me… She didn't stay in her world after it was through though. Her people learned of the dimension portals between the eight worlds, and most of them escaped to new lives. Your mother came to Termina a year after the war ended. We met right away, and it wasn't long before we fell in love. We were married after a year, and after two more, you were born.

Kakoli…she was a wonderful woman. You would have loved her. You look just like her. You have her face, her hair, her eyes… You even have her stubborn personality. I see her every time I look at you…" As he talked, Kafei could see how happy his father looked. It was a look he'd never seen before. He must have loved her so much…

"What happened to her? And why did you never tell me of her? And what about Aroma?" At the last question, Dotour's face fell.

"She got sick… There was no doctor who knew a cure, though I brought her to every race in Termina, and even in some of the other worlds… No one knew what was wrong or how to save her. After a few months, she…" His voice stopped suddenly, and Kafei couldn't find it in him to be angry anymore. Silence reigned in the small room for a few minutes before Dotour took a shaky breath and continued. "You weren't quite three-years-old when she died. I knew you'd never remember her. Aroma had been in love with me since we were children, and she came to me after Kakoli passed away. She offered to marry me right away so you wouldn't grow up without a mother. I accepted. She told me it would be best if I never told you, that way you wouldn't get hurt. I—" At that, Kafei's anger was back, tenfold. Aroma, it was _always_ her…

"Listen to yourself! How do you always let her talk you into the most inane ideas? How was being lied to and thinking another woman who I've never gotten along with was my mother supposed to help me? Honestly, that's the stupidest thing I've ever…" He trailed off, taking a deep breath to calm himself. There wasn't anything he could do to change the past he reminded himself. Besides, there were other things he'd come to find out. "I don't agree with what you did, but it's too late to change it…" Dotour said nothing. After a while of more silence, he put the picture frame back on his desk and turned it around so that they could see it.

"That was taken at our wedding. Doesn't it look familiar?" Yes, it certainly did…

"The Sun and Moon masks… You got married at the Carnival of Time…" Sure enough, they held masks identical to the ones Kafei and Anju had used at their own wedding.

"Indeed. Even though it was a Terminian tradition, she went along with it anyway. She loved it here. She really loved _you_, you know. She was so happy when she found out she was pregnant… She even brought you to a few of the other worlds when you were a baby. In fact…" He glanced at Vaati, then closed his mouth, ignoring the curious looks he was getting. "Well, I believe Ezlo should tell you that."

"Ezlo?!" Vaati exclaimed, the excitement evident on his face. "How do you know about Ezlo?" Dotour chuckled and shook his head, and Vaati's face fell.

"I can't tell you that either… I have no right to. But, if you'd like to go ask him yourself—"

"Yes!" Dotour chuckled again at the young man's enthusiasm.

"Actually, the power to travel the worlds has been right in front of you the entire time. All you needed was the key…" He took a small key from his pocket, but rather than give it to them, he unlocked a drawer in his desk and pulled out an instrument that was about six inches long. It had many pipes, and looked like it was made from bamboo. "This is a panpipe. It's a type of flute. It belonged to your mother…every Sheikah had an instrument they used to travel around, be it within a world or to different worlds." Kafei recalled the harp Sheik had carried and nodded.

"So we can use this to get to Vaati's world?" Dotour nodded, though he looked a bit troubled.

"Yes, you certainly can. However…you must learn to play it first." Kafei looked ready to protest, but he continued on regardless. "I learned to play it in a month, but you're half-Sheikah, so it should come to you far quicker. And no, I can't do it for you, because you need to be able to use it to come back too." Kafei nodded, though he wasn't happy about it. And judging by his sullen expression, Vaati wasn't either. "Come now, it won't be long now. Just learn the song and you can leave…" He took a piece of paper from his desk, then handed both to his son. Looking at it, Kafei could see that it was sheet music of sorts, presumably the song that could open the way to inter-dimensional travel…

"When I learn this, where do we go? What will happen?" Dotour smiled, reminiscing about the days when he'd asked Kakoli the very same things…

"The answers are simple. Go to the Clock Tower. Inside, at the top, is the portal. Play the song there and it will activate. You'll see that the ending of the song on the paper is blank…" Kafei glanced down, and sure enough, he was right. "…so just look at the bottom for the right ending. There are eight of them. The one for our world is the fifth one, and the one for Vaati's world is the sixth one. Play those, open the portal, then step though it. Make sure you remember where you end up, or you might spend a long time searching for the portal home… Though, I'm sure Vaati will know where you are."

Vaati wasn't sure he liked knowing that Dotour knew so much about Ezlo, his world, and even himself, especially when he wouldn't elaborate. Still, he supposed there wasn't much he could do...peacefully that was. And he wasn't like he used to be, so no stone statues today. He waited for Kafei to thank his father before doing the same and grasping his lover's hand in his own. Kafei gave a nod, and in a flash, Dotour was once again alone.

* * *

"…I can't do this." Vaati rolled his eyes at the annoyed tone.

"Oh yes, because_everyone_ can learn to play an instrument in _fifteen minutes_." Kafei tossed the panpipe on the bed in a rather childish huff.

"It's been longer than that…" The sorcerer looked at the clock and nodded.

"Oh yes, you're right. It's been _twenty-two_ minutes. My mistake." Kafei let out an annoyed sigh and stood up, holding out his hand. Vaati took it and allowed his lover to help him up.

"Fine, you win. I'll keep practicing… But first, I think we should tell Anju we're back. We just teleported back up here after all." Vaati wisely didn't voice his thoughts—Kafei's horribly off-key playing had probably alerted all of East Clock Town that they were there. So they made their way downstairs, only to find…no one. No one at all. There was, however, a piece of paper on the front desk, which Kafei picked up and read.

"…She says she went into town to get lunch. We _were_ gone longer than I thought we'd be…" He turned to Vaati, a smirk on his face. "What do you say? Shall we eat, or shall we try something else?"

"What's something else?" Vaati questioned, only to have his question answered as Kafei quickly latched their lips together. In the back of his mind, he knew it was a bad idea. They were close to Elain's room, Anju could come back, and who even knew if the front doors were locked… But somehow, as Kafei undid his belt, he couldn't bring himself to care much. That talented tongue, the skillful fingers—they always made him putty in Kafei's hands. And the thoughts of having sex out there, right on the desk, were…_horridly_ arousing.

Kafei threw Vaati's belt to the floor, then flung his hat down with it, allowing himself full access to the silky hair beneath it. Piece by piece, Vaati's clothing was removed until he was only in his undergarments. Then Kafei quickly did the same to himself as the excited sorcerer watched. Once they were in a similar state of undress, Kafei swept out his arm, effectively clearing the front desk and smirking as it crashed to the floor. Then he gestured to the clear surface, allowing Vaati to lie down on it before climbing up himself and straddling the younger man.

The kissing quickly resumed, as did the wandering hands. Oh, they both knew there'd be consequences. Vaati still had his concerns, while Kafei just wondered how he'd ever be able to work at the desk—or see Anju there—and keep a straight face again… But as Vaati let out a loud moan once Kafei's hand slipped far enough down, neither could stop themselves even if they tried…

…Until the sound of a door crashing open showed them that yes, yes they could.

Kafei looked up, only to see what was most likely the worst thing he could possibly see while sitting mostly-naked on top of his boyfriend—Riria. That was it; it was all over. He'd never get a chance to learn that damned song, because she'd run them out of town with a pitchfork, or some other similar, pointy object. Maybe Vaati could turn her to stone before she could tell the whole town she'd been right. She was even smiling already! Who knew what awful plan she had…? …Wait. Smiling, yes. Evilly, no. She even looked _happy_. What in the world…?

"Anju…I'm so happy. I'm finally going to get grandchildren…" …Anju? He looked down, only to have to bite his tongue to keep from screaming. No longer was he on top of his beautiful lover, oh no, now he was on top of his wife, bare breasts and all. He discreetly felt down…and suddenly, all arousal was gone. Looking down, he met his—her?—face, the expression telling him that he'd—she'd?—explain later.

"Oh, um, yes mother. We figured we'd start trying…" Oh guardians, he even _sounded_ like her. He felt faint… "Did you want something…?"

"Oh, it's nothing I guess. I heard a rumor that started with the mayor's secretary about Kafei and that man who's been living here, but it was obviously false…" Her smile widened, and she even maintained it when looking at _him_. Oh… "I'll let you get back to your…fun now. Though if you aren't going to do that in the bedroom, you might want to lock the doors next time…"

"Heehee, right…" Then, suddenly, to add insult to injury, of _all_ things, who should appear but his wife herself. Anju stopped behind her mother, ready to say something, when she caught sight of the scene within. Her jaw dropped at the perfect replica of herself, and she shot Kafei an accusing look. All he could do was give her a sharp look in return, mentally telling her to hide—_quickly_. Luckily for all of them, right before Riria could turn around, she thought of something else.

"Hmm… Where is that odd man anyway? I rarely see him without Kafei at his side…" Her attention diverted, Anju swiftly and silently moved past her mother and slipped into her grandmother's room. Kafei let out a small sigh of relief as Vaati struggled for an answer.

"Oh, h-he must be in town. I haven't seen him for a while…" Riria nodded, accepting the answer before she said her cheerful goodbyes and left them alone. Once the door was closed, Kafei scrambled up, locked the door to prevent any more unexpected guests, and then turned to his lover, still in the guise of his wife.

"What was _that_?" he demanded as Vaati sat up, poking one of the breast he'd grown experimentally. Kafei groaned at the sight, hoping he didn't decide he _liked_ being a woman…

"That's what _I'd_ like to know…" Anju groused as she stepped out of Elain's room, blushing once she saw what Vaati was doing. "And stop that!"

"And _please_, change back while you're at it…" Vaati shrugged, and seconds later, he was back in his natural form, shooting them both odd looks.

"I _know_ I told you that I can shape shift, Kafei… What, would you have preferred I let her see us like that?" Kafei sighed, half in exasperation, half because he was relieved he was seeing his boyfriend again, no boobs in sight.

"No, but couldn't you have just teleported us away?" Vaati shook his head with conviction, trying his best not to smirk. He found the entire situation rather amusing, even if the other two obviously didn't.

"Think about it… Riria now thinks that you and Anju are madly in love, to the point where you'd have hot, passionate sex on the front counter. Whatever rumors, or facts, she'd heard on the streets will now be replaced by this nice little lie. In fact, she's probably gone to tell everyone in all of Clock Town that she might be a grandmother in nine months. So, tell me again how this doesn't benefit us?" The other two blinked, taking that all in… Then Kafei crossed back over to Vaati and pulled him into a brief, fervent kiss.

"You're a genius," he murmured as he pulled away just as quickly as he'd initiated the whole thing. "That'll keep her out of our hair until we can figure out what we're going to do with all these new discoveries…"

"Exactly." They began to kiss again, leaving Anju to ponder the situation further. Yet again, they were talking about things of which she was completely unaware. Was it really _that_ big a secret? Didn't they trust her? Was— Suddenly, something derailed that train of thought, and her eyes widened.

"You!" she cried, point a finger at them accusingly. "You two were going to have sex on the front counter! The same counter I have to sit at! And you didn't even lock the door first!" They lovers broke their lip lock and looked at her irritated expression, then at each other. Seconds later, Vaati teleported them and their strewn clothes upstairs. They'd deal with her once she calmed down… Besides, they had more…urgent matters to attend to at the moment.

* * *

By the next day, they'd apologized and cleaned up the mess Kafei had made, promising that they'd keep their bedroom activities where they belonged…though they mentally amended that they'd _try_ to do that. She agreed to forgive them on one condition…

"Tell me what you're hiding." There was really no point pretending as if they didn't know what she was referring to, and since she'd probably find out soon anyway…

"It's a rather long story, but the short of it is that Aroma isn't my mother—a Sheikah woman named Kakoli is, though she's dead now. So I'm half Sheikah, and I inherited my mother's flute—"

"Panpipe," Vaati injected.

"—_panpipe_, and if I can learn to play it, I can travel between the eight known alternative universes that link to ours. We need to go to Vaati's world first, though I'd like to go to my mother's world too…I believe that's where Sheik was from, and probably Link too. …Any questions?" Anju was almost reeling from information overload, but… She supposed it made sense. Somewhat. Kafei looked nothing like his mother or his other relatives on her side, and it would explain his oddly colored eyes… And they knew there must be other worlds, so that was no surprise…

"How exactly does playing a panpipe get you to other worlds?" The look on his face told her that he wasn't exactly sure himself…

"Father said that there is a portal in each world that opens when a certain song is played. The one in our world is at the top of the Clock Tower. I'm not sure on the specifics, but I suppose we just…walk through it. I assume it will close after us so no one wanders in by accident." She nodded; was that why Kafei had always liked playing in the Clock Tower when they were children? Had he somehow known that he didn't quite belong there…? She wanted to ask more about his mother, but she didn't want to bring up any negative emotions, so she held her tongue. If she needed to know, she'd find out… Besides, there was something else she wanted to know even more.

"When will you leave? And…when will you come back?" The underlying question, '_You__**will**__ come back, won't you?_' didn't go unnoticed.

"Father is confident that I can learn the song in just a few weeks, though I'm not so sure… We'll probably leave just as soon as I can play it though. As for when we come back…" He paused and looked to Vaati, who had a small smile on his lips at the thoughts of seeing his old teacher again. Then he glanced at Anju, who looked desperate to know he wasn't leaving her for good… "I'm not sure. I imagine Vaati will want to stay for a while, but we'll come back once we're done. I suspect my father can tell me more of my mother's world before we go there… I have no idea how long we'll stay there."

"Oh…" She sounded…so small. So sad. He hated seeing her like that…but he was through lying to her. She deserved better.

"Anju, you've always been my best friend and you always will be. I can't guarantee that we won't find some place we prefer living more than Clock Town, but even if we do, it isn't as if you'd never see us again. When I learn to play that… that _thing_, I can come see you whenever I please. I'd certainly never forget about you." She smiled a bit, but it was still tinged with sadness.

"I know you wouldn't… Still, if you leave, I'll be all alone…" With that, Kafei had a variety of choices open up. One in particular stood out though… He knew he'd probably get a tongue-lashing later, but he knew what he had to say.

"Not necessarily." She shot him a confused look, while Vaati's eyes widened ever so slightly, knowing where his lover was going with that…

"What do you mean?" He ignored both of them, determined to do this. After all, if he was happy, then Anju should be too…

"Well, perhaps there's someone out there who's always loved you and just never told you. I'm sure they'd never leave you alone." Her brow furrowed at his words, and she knew there was something else behind them… And this time, she wasn't about to back down.

"Kafei, you tell me what you mean right now! Is someone in love with me? Who? Do I know them?" He couldn't help but smile at her determination. Anju was usually quite calm about things, but when she got into something, it was hard to deter her.

"Yes, I can't tell you, and yes." She started to protest, but he shook his head and continued. "It isn't my place to tell you. Just trust me… This person has loved you for a long time, and when they reveal themselves, you should give them a chance. I think you two will be prefect for each other…" She really didn't know what to say to that. She'd been in love with Kafei for so long that the thoughts of someone else being in love with _her_ had never crossed her mind. Who did she know that could possibly have loved her for a long time…?

"Well, okay, I'll keep an open mind. You have made me curious…" He smiled and nodded, silently praying to the guardians that Cremia and Anju would both find what they were looking for…preferably in each other.

* * *

Vaati shoved his head under the pillows, trying to block out the horrible noise just feet away from him. It had been five days since Kafei got that damned panpipe, and he was no closer to mastering it now than he'd been then. He was trying to be supportive, really he was, but that noise! That _awful_ noise! It took all of his willpower not to teleport far, far away.

He wanted to get to his world so badly. He wanted to show Ezlo that he'd found love, that he was finally learning to forgive himself and be happy. Plus, he desperately wanted to know what connection Dotour and his old teacher shared… But alas, until his musically disinclined boyfriend learned to carry a tune…

He came out from the pillows—they were hardly working anyway—and studied the other man carefully. What was he doing wrong? Not that Vaati could play a panpipe, but the Picori had their own instruments, and he'd seen something similar to what Kafei had. He wondered if they played the same way… If so, he wasn't doing it quite right.

"Move your head." Kafei abruptly stopped playing at the interruption.

"What?"

"Your head. Move that to reach your notes instead of moving the instrument with your hands. It'll be easier that way. And while you're at it, try tilting it slightly to see if you can reach those higher notes easier." Kafei didn't ask questions, he just did it. Whatever help he could get, he'd take.

The new notes that hit Vaati's ears were much better than the ones moments before. They were almost in tune! There was something off though… Something important… He got up from the bed and walked over to Kafei, snatching up the sheet music that lay before him. It wasn't a complicated song, but it wasn't a typical beginner song either. Musical talent must lie somewhere in his veins for him to even have an idea as to how to read it without any instruction. Still, he obviously wasn't able to read it _all_.

"You've been skipping the vibrato. No wonder it sounds off." _Now_ Kafei was curious.

"How can you read that? And what's vibrato?" Vaati laughed quietly and put the sheet music back.

"The Picori have our own instruments, not unlike yours. Size is really the only difference, with a few alternative materials to make them. I've seen a pipe like this made out of much smaller reeds, and as for how I can read it… I can play an instrument myself. It's rather like your races' violin. I can produce the sounds I need by moving my wrist as I play, and as for you…" He took hold of Kafei's hand and put it to the end of the pipes. "Just move your hand over it as you play. Can you follow the music like that?"

Kafei nodded as Vaati stood back to let him play. This made him realize that there was still a lot he and Vaati didn't know about each other… He'd certainly never known his lover could play the violin! He'd have to ask about what other secret talents Vaati was hiding… Later of course. Now he had a pipe to play.

Vaati stood back and let the new notes dance through his head. There, that was _far_ more pleasing to listen to. It was finally sounding like a song. With a bit more fine-tuning, they'd be leaving for his world in no time! Maybe in a few more days…

"Let's go to the clock tower." …Or maybe not.

"Are you sure? It's not perfect yet…" Kafei shrugged, sticking the music in his pocket.

"Why not? It can't hurt to see if this is good enough to get us through the portal. And I know you're just as sick of waiting as I am. So why don't we get what we need, tell Anju our plan, and give it a shot? If not, we'll just go back later." Vaati smiled, a longing for his home shining in his red eyes…

"Okay, let's try."

* * *

An hour later, they each had a bag, thoughts of Anju's teary "Come back soon!" in their minds, and hope that Kafei's song would work. It was Vaati's first time in the clock tower, but he was too excited to give it much thought. He was completely focused on his lover, who stood at the top of the tower, his panpipe out and near his lips. Kafei took a deep breath—while Vaati held his—before he began to play.

The sound that filled the tower was…beautiful. It was even better than it had been an hour ago, and Kafei hadn't played it again after that. Maybe being here was awakening something in him…

Soon enough, the music stopped, and Vaati wasn't at all surprised to see that one of the walls was glowing faintly. Kafei saw it too, and the lovers shared a smile. This was it… They were going to get even more answers about their pasts. They'd learn more about each other…and themselves.

Without a word, Kafei put his panpipe in his bag, they took each other's hand, and they jumped towards the shimmering wall…

Then they were gone, and the wall was solid once more.


	15. Chapter 14

Kismet—Chapter Fourteen

by taitofan

Rated R for yaoi, sexual content, hits of yuri, and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: This is the part where I beg for your forgiveness for making you wait so long. I'm so sorry! I do hope I can make up for it and not take nearly as long with the next chapter. There's a lot of info and hinting at the "big secret" in this one. Some of you have had some great guesses as to what it is! …Well, onto notes I suppose. I can hear some of you now—_but the humans called them Picori and they call themselves the Minish_! Well, in the manga there was none of this Minish stuff. And besides, I've always thought it sounded backwards. So I changed it. This is a more manga based fic anyway. I hope I was able to describe the space-time continuum in a way that makes sense too. Maybe I've been watching too much sci-fi…

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 09-15-08

* * *

The Minish Woods was a peaceful place when megalomaniacal sorcerers weren't cursing the land; alas, the last time Vaati had been there at a height above a few inches tall, that's exactly what he'd been doing. But now…being older, more mature, happier, and even taller… His old home looked _beautiful_.

"Is…this your world?" Vaati nodded, smiling as he looked around and saw all of the features he'd once known so well. Everything looked so small…especially considering a pebble was usually a large obstacle to his race.

"Yes, this is what the humans call the Minish Woods. We're to the southeast of Hyrule Town, where I was born. This is where I lived with Master Ezlo though. We're lucky this is where the portal opened." He paused and ran his hand over the wall of rock they'd emerged from. "I certainly won't forget this place. We're even near the portal closest to town."

"Portal…? Town…?" Vaati rather liked the fact that their roles had been reversed. Instead of Kafei telling him all about Clock Town and Termina, now it was his turn to be the guide for both Hyrule _and_ the world of the Picori.

"The humans call them Minish portals. Due to a misunderstanding hundreds of years ago, the humans think we're called the Minish instead of the Picori, so if you hear Minish, they're talking about us." He paused a moment and allowed Kafei to take it all in before he continued. "The portals are magically infused stumps like the one I used in your world, which shrink humans down to Picori size. We'll need one to enter Picori Village where Master Ezlo lives...but they only work once every hundred years, and that's already passed… I think that it will still work for me though, since I'm still technically a Picori." He looked Kafei over thoughtfully for a moment, a small frown on his face. "I'm not really sure about you. I guess if I try taking you with me and it doesn't work, I can find Master Ezlo and see if he can help…"

Vaati didn't look very happy at that idea however. Kafei could already guess why—his lover didn't want to go all alone back to a place where the majority of the villagers hated him. Plus, Vaati lost his sorcerer powers in his Picori form… Kafei didn't want him to have to go by himself either.

"Well, hopefully it'll work then. But…are you sure you can do this without us both ending up naked?" The question was just silly enough to break Vaati away from his melancholy thoughts and make him laugh. Kafei smiled at the pleasant sound—he hated seeing Vaati upset after all.

"I think I know where I messed up before, so yeah. We _should_ be fine..." Both had their reservations though. What if the portal didn't work? What if something went wrong? …What if it _did_ work? Kafei had never been that small before. And then there was the village… But they also both knew that nothing would happen if they merely stood around worrying. Vaati cocked his head towards a large stump and held his hand out. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose," he replied softly, taking his lover's hand and being led to the stump. It was a tight fit getting both men up there, but there was just enough room if they pressed together. Vaati wrapped his arms tightly around Kafei's waist, making sure he had a good grip so the spell would work on them both. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then opened his mouth…

The chanting was like an exotic song to Kafei's ears. The magic coming from the melody was almost tangible. It was as if it were wrapping itself around him, consuming his very being… Then he felt it. He was…changing. He could feel his body—his bones, muscles, skin, _everything_—shrinking at a rapid pace. The arms around his waist were getting smaller too, until they could barely keep their grip. And then, suddenly, there was nothing but air beneath his feet. He was falling! But those tiny arms did their best to stay attached, even as they plummeted through the stump and landed with a soft thud on a large mushroom which bounced them down into a patch of soft moss.

When Kafei got his wits about him and opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Vaati laying on top of him, a large grin on his long Picori face. Oh, so _that's_ what that weight had been… Luckily, Vaati was even lighter as a Picori that he was as a human.

The last time he'd seen his lover in his original form, he'd been smaller than his thumb, and he'd thought he looked a bit strange. But now that they were the same size… He was _awfully_ cute. He decided to keep that to himself though. Vaati might not be able to use his powers to torture him in this state, but he still had the sword that had shrunk along with them attached to his hip, and Kafei preferred _not_ to have it stuck in uncomfortable places.

"K-Kaafei," he heard his lover struggle to say his name in his native tongue. "Ooui didu itu!" It took a few moments to register that he'd just tried to say '_We did it_,' but when it clicked, he smiled up at the petit Picori.

"We did. It'll be…_difficult _to communicate if you can barely speak to me anymore though." Vaati frowned as he nodded. Until they could get to the village and get a Jabber Nut, yes, it _would_ be difficult. Sure, he could speak the language if he really tried, but it was so tricky to form most of the sounds… He wanted to tell Kafei about the nut, but it would be _so_ much effort…he'd see once they got there.

He got off his lover and stood up, reaching down and helping Kafei to his feet. Deciding to rely on nonverbal communication for the majority of the trip to the village, he kept their hands linked and gently tugged him towards a crack in the stump. Kafei followed without a word, amazed by the long fingers entwined with his own. It would take some getting used to this new body…but he fully looked forward to it.

* * *

Kafei only knew one Picori, but he had a deep respect for them already. Killer raindrops, fear of drowning in a killer puddle, killer pebbles, killer insects…_everything_ was out to get them! As they trudged hand and hand on a dirt path littered with leaves and acorns that were also potential death hazards, he cold only hope that they were close… He didn't like being so tiny. _At all_.

While crossing a puddle on a lily pad, he managed to get a look at his reflection. He looked just the same as always, only smaller. It seemed that the magic merely shrank humans and their possessions. Meanwhile, Vaati's sorcerer outfit had morphed into some sort of robe this time…which was good, because he didn't fancy them waltzing into Vaati's old village to meet his mentor in the nude.

As they went further down the path, the hand within his tightened more and more. Finally, out of the blue, Vaati stopped and turned to him, a nervous look on his face. He hadn't said a word since inside the stump, but now it looked like he was trying to decide the easiest way to say something very important.

"…Sukaado." He pointed to himself as he said it, and Kafei immediately knew what he was trying to say. He untangled their fingers to instead draw the tiny creature into his arms. Even in these forms, he was taller than Vaati. And now, more than ever, could he imagine how such a little, fragile looking Picori could fear for his life and want instant power to change it. He looked so small and defenseless… And Kafei knew that he wouldn't let any harm come to his lover while they were there. He'd keep him safe, just as Vaati had promised to keep him from harm before.

"I know you're scared, but it won't be long. We'll hurry to Ezlo's house and you'll be safe and sound. I won't let them hurt you, I promise. You said you'd keep me safe back in my world, and while you're like this, I'll do the same for you. So don't worry." The murmured words did their job and calmed the frightened Picori down. Of course, Kafei could keep him safe… True, he had a sword and he wasn't too bad with it, but he didn't want to hurt anyone here…he didn't know if his past memories would allow him to.

…Unless they hurt Kafei at least. Then there'd be hell to pay.

After a few more moments, they pulled away and once again linked their hands as they resumed their journey. It didn't take long before Kafei could see a patch of thistle flowers ahead. Soon, the pathway was decorated with clovers that had been weaved together to make welcoming arches into the village. Then the houses came into view. Mushroom cap roofs, one made from a broke vase, a large building made from half a barrel… The Picori were certainly creative.

There wasn't anyone around the entrance to Picori Village, but Kafei could still feel his lover's hands trembling. He squeezed the pale appendage reassuringly, and Vaati offered him a small smile in return. Of course, he then wasted no time in leading the way to Ezlo's house. He wished—_oh, please Goddesses!_—that he could just get there before anyone saw him. It wasn't far, and if they hurried, maybe they could—

"Jochii! Nanmi! Ikauyo!" The cries seemed to come out of nowhere. Suddenly, little Picori had popped out of their homes, looked out windows, were pointing and screaming in fear or anger… It was overwhelming for the both of them. Kafei, because he had no idea what they were saying, but he knew that it couldn't be positive judging by the way Vaati had latched onto his arm and buried his face in his shoulder, looking like he was seconds away from tears. Vaati, on the other hand, knew _exactly_ what they were saying about him. _The demon is back_. That's what they'd called him ever since he returned to the village after taking over Hyrule. He found that he couldn't quite disagree with them. And right now, he couldn't even _look_ at them.

"Isananmego," he whimpered again, barely being heard by Kafei and certainly by no one else. "Isananmego, isananmego, isananmego…"

As Kafei stood there wondering what to do—Vaati was frozen and he certainly didn't know the way to Ezlo's house—it happened. Looking back, neither would think it had been that big of a deal, and it certainly hadn't been life threatening, but when one of the Picori picked up a small pebble and threw it at Vaati's head… Well, Kafei hadn't just got done saying he wouldn't let anyone harm Vaati for nothing.

He wasn't even sure what happened. All he knew was that he was so _angry_ with these people. Vaati hadn't done or said a thing before they started harassing him! That anger, that frustration, it all built up…

Vaati lifted his head hesitantly, despite himself. That feeling… That feeling of raw magical power… Where was it coming from? It was like nothing else he'd ever sensed; it certainly was nothing a Picori was capable of… That's when he noticed Kafei. His lover went from scowling at the Picori to completely dazed. His eyes glazed over and the power grew stronger… Then a Picori screamed. And another, and another still.

His eyes widened as he saw the flames licking their feet. Fire? Where…? Then it hit him and he turned back to Kafei. He wasn't sure if this new discovery had come at an opportune time or not, but regardless… He couldn't let the whole village burn down.

"Kaafei, s-stoppu!" The voice of his lover, combined with the frantic tugging at his arm, was enough to snap Kafei out of his daze. His eyes cleared at the same time the flames died down. It was still long enough for the bewildered man to see the frightened Picori running back to their houses, their robes singed. He looked down to Vaati for an answer, but the Picori had neither the words nor the time to explain right then. With no one blocking the path, he grabbed Kafei's hand and ran the rest of the way.

* * *

The first thing Vaati did upon flinging open the door, pushing Kafei inside, and locking it behind himself was to catch his very surprised mentor in a hug and excitedly say his greetings. Then he pulled away and practically begged for a Jabber Nut. Ezlo was already surprised enough to see Vaati again so soon, but when he looked over to the person he'd brought with him, his eyebrows shot up and his jaw hung. Was that…? Was it _really_…? Not wanting to be left in suspense any longer, he sent Vaati—who was far younger and much faster—off to his study to find the nut.

Kafei, meanwhile, wondered what Vaati had just said to the old Picori man, who he could only assume was Ezlo. And where had he run off to? He didn't have to wait long though, as half a minute later Vaati returned holding a strange red nut that looked like it had lips. He was hesitant to take it when Vaati thrust it at him, but the excited Picori chatter that he _still_ couldn't understand made him decide that whatever it was, it wouldn't hurt to eat it.

"…So, can you understand me now?" Kafei could have been more surprised by that, but…the nut did have _lips_ after all. He did note that Vaati's voice was even higher pitched than usual in this form…though he decided not to mention it.

"Yes thank you… by the way, what _was_ that?" Vaati looked relieved that he no longer had to twist his tongue to speak the human language.

"It's called a Jabber Nut. Anyone who eats one can understand Picorian. We can all understand you anyway, so now we won't have to play charades just to go through a tunnel anymore." They both chuckled at the joke that only they understood, but Ezlo was far too amazed by the newcomer to be upset by them ignoring him. Vaati seemed so at ease with this man and had brought him all this way… If this really _was_ who he thought it was, then perhaps…

"Don't you think you should introduce your guest Vaati?" The old, wise voice snapped the young men from their laughter, and Vaati chuckled nervously, not unlike a child being reminded to say thank you after receiving a present.

"Of course Master Ezlo, forgive my rudeness. This is my…friend, Kafei." The pause between _my_ and _friend_ was slight, but hardly subtle enough for Ezlo to not be suspicious. Vaati flushed under his mentor's intense gaze and turned to Kafei. "Kafei, this is my old teacher Ezlo, as I'm sure you guessed."

"Yes," Kafei replied with a nod, "you've told me quite a bit about him in the past few months."

"Has he now…" At this point, Ezlo was mentally deciding the best course of action to get the answers he wanted. This young man, Kafei, he looked so much like _her_… Was it possible that he was the one? Could Vaati's luck with the wishing hat really have been so perfect?

…He supposed that the direct route was the best.

"Kafei… How is Kakoli doing?" Both men were silent at the question, but Kafei in particular felt his chest tighten. So it was true then…his father really _had _known Ezlo.

"She…my mother is dead. I don't remember her, and I didn't even know she existed until a short time ago. But how do you…?" Ezlo frowned at the news, having feared that would be the answer.

"Then Dotour never found a cure… That's an awful shame. Kakoli was a wonderful woman. Strong, brave, intelligent, exquisite… My condolences for your loss. Though I'm not surprised you have no recollection of her. You were quite young when she became ill." Kafei gave a quiet thanks. It seemed his mother was a popular person…he wish he'd gotten to know her.

"My father said she brought me to other worlds. Was this one of them?"

"No," Ezlo replied, his eyes darting back and forth between Kafei and his former pupil. "She did come to this world quite a bit after she left her world though. Her magic allowed her to use the portals without the aid of a Picori. I know she brought you to her home world a few times, but she was waiting to bring you here once you were older. Time does not flow the same in this world as it does in yours you see."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Vaati cut in, something that his lover had been wondering as well.

"Well, you see, your mother was present when Vaati was born, yet she had just become pregnant with you. And yet, though Vaati was born over half a year before you, you are older than he is now. That is due to the different time streams. You age slightly quicker than the people of this world do, since the time in your world go by faster."

It was a hard concept to understand…so they both just decided to go with it. It wasn't like it was _that _strange after all they'd been through.

"So does that mean that in all the time I've been gone, it doesn't seem long at all for you?" A nod was his answer. "This is all so confusing… So why was Kakoli here when I was born?"

"Your parents and I were friends, as you know, and your mother wanted me there at your birth. Kakoli was visiting me that day to discuss something, and thus she accompanied me when your mother began labor. While the delivery was taking place, Kakoli decided to…enhance you."

"Enhance…?" Vaati thought back to what they'd read about the Sheikah being the only race to have the same color eyes as he did. So what exactly did that mean?

"I know you've often wondered why you look to different from all other Picori. In fact, you looked just the same as any other newborn, for a short while at least. Brown hair, brown eyes, normally pigmented skin… It wasn't until Kakoli infused you with her power that you received the characteristics that you have today."

Both men's minds were reeling at this point. So Kafei's mother was the reason that Vaati looked the way he did? And she'd been planning to bring Kafei back once he was born and older? But why? So many questions, so many answers they both desperately needed…

"I believe that's enough for today." He mentally counted. Three, two, one…

"What?!" Right on cue, the two voices spoke in perfect, disbelieving harmony.

"I'm sorry boys, but I cannot tell you anymore today. Not until I'm sure of something." Vaati opened his mouth to protest, but Ezlo didn't give him the chance. "No, no more right now. Once I am sure you are both ready to hear it, I shall tell you everything. For now, you should show Kafei up to your old room. I have things I still need to finish today, and you both have a lot to discuss, I'm sure." Vaati knew better than to argue with the elder Picori; he instead grabbed Kafei's hand and lead him through a nearby hallway in a huff without another word.

Ezlo couldn't help by smile as he watched them go. Vaati looked so much more alive than he did in the past few years… He had a feeling that they were indeed ready to hear the full truth already, but he'd promised Kakoli that he'd be sure…

"Your son and Vaati are doing just as you foresaw Kakoli," he said quietly to himself, his smile becoming bittersweet. "If only you could see them now… I just know you'd be proud."

With a sigh, he set off towards his study, needing time to think all of the day's surprising events through.

* * *

"—always doing this! Why can't he ever just say what's going on instead of making me play guessing games? That man is so—"

"Vaati." The sound of his name immediately stopped the Picori's rant, causing him to spin on his heel and turn his grumpy gaze towards Kafei.

"Oh, don't tell me he didn't make you mad too. I saw how you got when your father wouldn't tell you everything. This is no different." No, Kafei supposed it wasn't. And surely, the way Vaati felt he was blowing things out of proportion then must have been similar to how Kafei was feeling now. …But that didn't mean he had to admit it.

"Let's just calm down now, alright? He's not going to tell us any sooner than he wants too after all. Now, you dragged me down a hall, up a flight of stairs, down another hall, and more or less flung me into this room without a word before you started your tirade. Might you be so kind as to at least show me around your room?" Vaati suddenly felt a bit foolish. Right, Kafei had no idea what half the things in his room were, considering Picori furniture and inventions weren't in Termina.

"Um, alright. Well, as you can see, my bed there is made of an old wooden matchbox, and that chair is a spool, and…" Vaati went around his room, showing which things in his room had once come from humans, which ones were crafted from things in nature, and how a variety of them worked. Kafei was again amazed by the ingenuity of the Picori, but he was downright baffled when Vaati came to one thing in particular.

"How do the Picori get photographs? Isn't the technology for that far too advanced to come in such a small size?" Vaati smiled as he picked up a frame which held a photo of three Picori—two typical looking adults with dark hair and dark eyes and their purple and red baby.

"You'd be amazed what the town Picori pick up on. When Ezlo moved me out here, I made sure to bring this. It's still a hard feat to take a picture, even if it is possible with a lot of work, so it's the only one I have of them. Unfortunately, it's so tiny that a human could never see it, so I had to leave it here whenever I've become human." He smiled, albeit sadly, and placed the frame back down.

In a way, both envied each other. Vaati had been old enough to remember both of his parents, yet he only had one picture to remind himself of what his memory forgot with age. Kafei couldn't remember his mother at all, though his father was still alive, even if they weren't close, and he had many pictures of the woman he'd lost so long ago. Neither was sure who should feel more grateful.

"I wish I could show you around the village, but, well, you've seen why I can't. I doubt it would be any better in Hyrule Town as a Picori _or _a human. Though maybe since I look older as a human than I did before, I might be able to show you around safely there…"

"That reminds me," Kafei spoke up, "what were the other Picori saying to you before?" For a moment, he was afraid he'd offended his lover, considering Vaati's eyes took on a stormy gaze. Unbeknownst to him, the Picori was merely remembering some of the more nasty things the villagers had said…things that didn't even have to do with him. _The demon's concubine _indeed. If he hadn't been scared out of his wits and actually processed what'd they'd been saying at the time, he probably would have let Kafei burn them. …Which was another thing he noted they still needed to discuss.

"Oh, nothing new. _The demon is back_. _Haven't you caused enough trouble_? _Go back to where you came from_. You know, the usual. Nothing I haven't heard before." He left out the concubine part though. Hopefully no one who saw them before they left would be idiotic enough to repeat it either now that Kafei would be able to understand them.

Kafei had a feeling it had been something along those lines, but that didn't mean he liked it. Throwing around such insults before Vaati had done or said a thing… Hadn't all the time he'd been in the village after returning from his first bout as a sorcerer meant anything to them? Had what Vaati done really been so bad that only one Picori in the entire village and possibly all of the others could forgive him?

"I see… I suppose we should talk about something different." The Picori nodded gratefully.

"Yes. Actually, I wanted to talk about—"

"Vaati, bring Kafei downstairs! I have dinner ready!" Vaati was a bit irritated that he'd have to wait for his answers, but they hadn't eaten all day…

"Well, you heard him… Don't worry, he's a pretty good cook. Come on, I'll lead the way." Kafei was just as curious to hear what Vaati wanted to talk about as _Vaati _was to bring it up, but being equally hungry himself, he said nothing and allowed himself to be led back downstairs and through a variety of hallways. Soon, they came to a small kitchen with a table set for three. Vaati sat down at the round table—this appeared to be hand-made Kafei noted—while his lover sat beside him. Ezlo set some sort of stew Kafei was unfamiliar with on the table and took the remaining seat, a warm smile on his face.

"Shall we begin?"

Dinner was very pleasant, both in company and in cuisine. As it turned out, vegetables tasted just as good when you were the size of a thumb as they did when you were six feet tall. There was small talk in between eating, mostly consisting of Ezlo asking Kafei about Termina and his father. Throughout it, Vaati got more and more antsy though…

"Kafei, how did you control fire back in the village?" The question was met with two stares, one confused and one surprised.

"Fire…?" Vaati nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed for blurting out the question, but horribly curious all the same.

"Yes, earlier, when someone threw that rock at me head. You conjured flames out of nowhere and scared them away. You looked like you were in a trance though… Don't you remember?"

The look on his face was enough to say that no, no he didn't.

"I remember being angry…then the next thing I recall was you telling me to stop and dragging me the rest of the way here."

"Interesting…" The two turned to Ezlo, who looked rather excited at the thought that Kafei almost burnt a crowd of Picori. "Fire you say… That makes sense. It was Kakoli's specialty after all."

"My mother could control fire?" came the shocked question. How many things could he learn about this woman in one day?

"Oh yes, as a trained Sheikah warrior, Kakoli was skilled at controlling all four of the major elements, though fire was her forte. As you are only half-Sheikah, it may be the only power you inherit, though it should prove to be powerful with training."

The concept seemed strange to Kafei, which was saying a lot considering what he'd gone through in the past years. How was he supposed to train something that he couldn't even remember invoking? And how did one safely train fire? It wasn't as if it were just something he could use on the slightest whim, like Vaati's power over the wind.

Sensing his inner distress, the two Picori turned the conversation back to small talk, and no more was said on the matter.

* * *

When nighttime came, the lovers had no problems calling it a day and heading off to Vaati's room to sleep. It had been a long, rather stressful day after all. However, though Vaati fell asleep in his old, familiar bed easily, Kafei just couldn't get all the thoughts floating through his mind to quiet down long enough for him to drift off.

After about an hour of trying, he carefully slipped out of Vaati's embrace and quietly left the room. In the hallway, he went the only way he'd learned—downstairs. Though he wasn't sure where he was going or what he'd do once he got there, he just needed to do _something _to clear his head…

"Kafei, is something bothering you?" Said man turned around guilty, having hoped that Ezlo would be asleep by that point and no one would know of his insomnia. He saw no point in lying though…

"Lots of things are. But most involve my mother, which you don't seem to be willing to discuss yet." He paused, wondering if maybe there was something else he could hear from the older man instead… "Would you be willing to answer a question about Vaati?"

"That depends on the question. You may ask, though I can't guarantee an answer." Fair enough, Kafei thought. Maybe hearing something from a different source could give him a better view of his lover's plight. …He just hoped Ezlo would help.

"Vaati told me some of what went on when he first stole the original wishing hat. What I've heard hardly justifies how much everyone in this world seems to hate him, or the grief he carries. Perhaps if you told me what you know of that time, I might have a better understanding of it all."

Ezlo wasn't too surprised at the question. It wasn't that he expected Vaati to lie or tone down his past, but rather, Vaati didn't even know everything that happened. The young Picori could only guess…though Ezlo wasn't sure if that guess would be overestimating or underestimating the damage.

"I shall tell you what I know… Surely, Vaati told you that he took over Hyrule by turning Princess Zelda into stone and possessing the king, correct?"

"Yes," Kafei affirmed. "And that he released monsters into Hyrule and turned you into a talking hat."

"Yes… That was an interesting time… Well, that's beside the point. Yes, he did all that. The monsters did more than terrify the humans though. Due to their size and destructive nature, many Picori over the land of Hyrule were lost in attacks. Quite a few human casualties accumulated as well, not to mention other native creatures. True, Vaati never killed anyone by his down hand… But in his quest for power, lives _were _lost. A few from this very village in fact. So you can't exactly blame them for not trusting him."

Kafei had guessed that people had died, but…he never actually stopped to think about the losses of these people he'd never known. Of course Vaati was terrified of them! Who knew which of the very Picori they'd faced that very day had lost their parents, child, sibling, lover, or friend because of Vaati…

"Does this knowledge change your opinion of him?" Kafei thought about it for a moment, but only a moment. After all, the answer was very clear.

"No, not at all. He's not the same person he was back then, and he's trying hard to atone for his sins. I love him more than I've ever loved anyone in my life… There is nothing I could learn about him that could ever change that." Ezlo smiled at those words.

"I'm glad to hear that… Your mother would be proud of that decision. She certainly made the right choice all those years ago." Sensing this had something to do with the conversation earlier that day, Kafei kept silent, knowing questions would get him nowhere. Not until Ezlo wanted to tell him.

"I see… Well, good night then."

"Good night Kafei."

As Kafei walked back upstairs, the elder Picori couldn't help but feel a sense of pride himself. All was going just as Kakoli had predicted it would…

* * *

It wasn't until Kafei was back in bed that he realized he'd just told Ezlo he loved Vaati, and the old Picori hadn't seemed surprised at all.


	16. Chapter 15

Kismet—Chapter Fifteen

by taitofan

Rated R for yaoi, sexual content, hits of yuri, and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: Oh my god, you don't know how ashamed I am to see how long it's been. I really apologize, but trust me when I say I have no plans of ever actually dropping this fic. It's my baby! Please feel free to PM me or something and bug me to update this, really! Okay, so the notes… We're still in Vaati's world, and it's time to meet some old friends! Plus, what's this? Is Ezlo finally ready to talk about _The Big Secret_? …Well, you'll just have to see! This Minish Cap mini arc will likely be one more chapter, then it's time for something special.

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 02-13-10

* * *

It was after breakfast when Vaati mentioned that he planned on taking Kafei to Hyrule Town that day. He looked older, had clothes from Clock Town with him, and had Kafei to draw attention from him as well. He didn't see why they couldn't go out for a little while at least. If something went wrong, he could always teleport himself and Kafei away after all.

That was when Ezlo told them something interesting.

"If I'm not mistaken, today is a festival when people from all around go to Hyrule Town to celebrate the goddesses. It will be even bigger than the Picori Festival. Surely you remember how busy that was?" Indeed he did, though he didn't like to think of those times. "It should be easy for you to go unnoticed. Many people there will never even have seen you. Do take caution though, and make sure you get out if anything goes wrong."

That had settled it; Vaati and Kafei decided that was exactly what they would do that day. It gave Kafei a chance to do some sightseeing, while Vaati got to get out of Ezlo's house with hopes that no one would notice him. As much as he wanted to see more of his old master, he knew that the elder Picori was hiding something big, and the more opportunities Vaati had to pester him about it, the longer Ezlo would withhold the information. It all worked out really.

Leaving the village went far more smoothly than entering it had. No one approached the couple, likely having experienced or at least heard about the fire incident the day before. That didn't stop them from whispering though.

"What do they mean by '_the concubine's flames_'?" Vaati stifled a groan and walked faster.

* * *

"Do you think I'll ever get used to that?" Kafei's question came from atop the stump they'd used to become small the day before. They were their full sizes again, and the older man found that growing felt just as odd as shrinking had.

"Well, perhaps. I suppose it will depend on how often you have to do it. Even I haven't gone through it many more times as you, and I doubt it feels any more natural to me as it does to you." Kafei figured that with dimension traveling at their fingertips, visits to Ezlo would be at least a semi-regular occurrence, so long as Vaati could stand being around the other Picori. He wasn't sure if his lover _could_ though, so he didn't say anymore on the subject. Instead he focused on the lovely bare flesh before him as Vaati changed out of his mage's attire and put on the clothes he'd gotten in Clock Town. The festival might have lots of strangers, but they weren't about to tempt fate.

"Ready?" Vaati stuffed the last of his cape in his bag and nodded, glad they wouldn't be traveling to the town while tiny.

"Ready." He took Kafei's hand and was about to lead the way, but the other man didn't move. The mage shot him a confused look, only for Kafei to reach over and push the hair out of his eye and tuck the long strands behind his pointed ear.

"Just one more little change for security." Vaati nodded and tried again to start their trip, which was met with cooperation that time. Though, to be honest, Kafei really just liked seeing his lover's face.

* * *

"Ezlo wasn't joking… There are so many people here!" Hyrule Town was small when compared to Clock Town, despite there being a castle a short ways in the distance. That didn't stop it from being full to the brim with vendors and citizens. Children, teenagers, adults, the elderly—they were all milling about, buying trinkets and food, laughing and gossiping. Vaati, having been to the Picori Festival, was a bit ticked off that his people's festival was barren by comparison. But then again, this _was_ a festival for the three goddesses…

"Yes… A lot…" It was apparent that Vaati was nervous that someone would recognize him. It was a valid concern, but with some many people who had never gotten to see him before and with him looking older, Kafei was confident that they'd have plenty of time to look around before they had to make any escapes.

"Come on, it'll be fine. Now, what should we do…" If nothing else, Kafei's hand entwined with his made him feel better. They walked around the town, and sure enough, no one paid any mind to the mage or the fact that they were two men holding hands. No one even looked twice at them.

"Which goddess do you worship?" Vaati asked as they passed a stand selling charms claiming to be infused with the goddesses' powers, though he could sense that they were nothing but cheap hunks of wood and cloth.

"None of them," Kafei admitted, yet again realizing that there was still plenty about each other that they didn't know because it had never come up. Religion was one of those things. "People in Termina worship the four giants, the guardians of our world. I know they're real because they helped to stop the moon, but I can't say I actively worship them or any deity. We don't even have goddesses. I can't even claim I know anything about them other than there seem to be three and are color-coded."

"Yes, Din is red, Nayru is blue, and Farore is green. I can't really tell you much more about them though, other then they're associated with power, wisdom, and courage respectively. My parents worshiped them as do many town Picori, but Ezlo never did and I didn't see the point in praying to a goddess that never seemed to help me after I moved in with him… You know?" Kafei had a feeling he did. Vaati had always been an outsider; praying for a goddess's protection only for your prayers to go unanswered was sure to make anyone jaded. Another thing they had in common it seemed.

"Yes, I understa—" he stopped suddenly, and before Vaati could ask what was wrong, the older man was face-first on the ground, a bundle of feathers flapping wildly on his back.

"A Cucco? What's a Cucco doing in the festival like this?" Kafei pulled himself up, trying to dislodge the creature from its grip on the back of his shirt, but it wasn't going too well. Taking pity upon his lover, Vaati reached down and scooped the thing up, murmuring comforting words in his native tongue that soothed the bird. Kafei, finally able to understand it, was amazed that telling a Cucco '_there there, you're all right, please don't tear my boyfriend's skin off_' actually worked.

"What the hell is wrong with that thing anyway?" Kafei questioned as he was finally able to get off the ground, scowling at the Cucco now nestled in Vaati's arms. "And why are you still holding it anyway? You can let it go now." Vaati did something quite unexpected then—he frowned and held the bird tighter, a defiant look on his face.

"I don't want to let him go, that's why. I want to keep him! I'll call him…Sebastian." It honestly took all of Kafei's willpower to keep a straight face.

"You…want to keep the Cucco that just attacked me and name it…Sebastian." A happy nod was his answer. Lovely. "Well, as much as I'm sure Sebastian would be a wonderful pet, he probably belongs to someone already. Besides, we couldn't take him back with us. He's too big for your village and Anju is allergic to Cucco feathers, so we couldn't take him back to Clock Town either. If you really want a pet, we can get you a nice cat or something once we get back."

Vaati looked rather downtrodden, but after a moment he cheered up again.

"Can we name the cat Sebastian?"

"…Sure." He really, _really_ wished he knew what went through Vaati's mind sometimes. "Now, let's see if we can find someone looking for a lost Cucco…"

"Here Cucco Cucco, here Cucco!"

"Well, _that_ was convenient. Come on, you need to return the Cucco, love." Vaati didn't look thrilled at the thought, but more than anything he looked rather perplexed…

"That voice sounds awfully familiar…"

"Oh, my Cucco! I'm so glad you caught him!" The couple turned to the grateful voice, more than a little shocked by the site awaiting them.

"A-Anju…?" The woman was the exact doppelganger of Kafei's wife. She was even wearing a similar style of clothing as their Anju did. Her eyes widened as Kafei said her name—even her facial expressions were identical.

"How did you know my name? Oh wait, I know, I'm the only one with pet Cuccos around of course! Someone must have told you when you were trying to find out that one's owner, right?" The handy excuse was taken as they nodded quickly. "Well, thank you very much for catching him. My Cuccos are sneaky and like to escape, but I'm allergic to their feathers and can't actually pick them up without getting hives… Oh, but you don't want to hear about that! Could you please help me bring with one back to the coop at my house? It's not far off, and I can pay you for your troubles."

"You don't have to—"

"It's no problem," she cut off, smiling pleasantly at them. "It's really the least I can do. Now, please follow me!" The pair exchanged a look before following the happy woman. It was Anju after all…how could they refuse?

* * *

"That was almost surreal… I know we both knew of boys named Link, but to think there are two of Anju as well… Could there be doubles of us too?" Vaati was just as confused as Kafei.

"I'm not sure. I suppose there _could_ be. I wonder if Master Ezlo knows anything about it…" While Vaati made a mental note to ask his old teacher about it once they returned to the village, Kafei's attention was turned from the Anju lookalike and onto a stand they passed. He stopped in front of it, glancing at one of the items for sale lined on the shelves. Vaati stopped as well, wondering what had stolen his lover's attention away.

"There are Keatons in this world?" Kafei questioned, pointing up at a brightly colored mask.

"Yes, they live all over. I…" He paused, not wanting the booth's owner to hear him admit he'd controlled monsters even if he didn't appear to be paying attention to them. "Let's just say that they were among the monsters that roamed Hyrule a while back." That was enough for Kafei to understand.

"In Termina, they're wise creatures who can be summoned wearing a mask like that one. Tomo gave me one when I was a child, and I wore it when Stalkid transformed me to hide from everyone, though he knew it was me. I told everyone I was hiding because I was a child, but the marriage… Well, you know what happened then. I wonder if anything happens if you wear the mask here though…?"

"Well, we did just get those rupees from Anju. We could try it out." Almost as if '_rupee_' were a magic word, the man running the booth finally turned to them, a greasy smile on his face.

"Ya lookin' at the mask there, sweetheart? I doubt ya got enough rupee for craftsmanship like that. But maybe if yer boyfriend lets such a pretty lil girl give me a lil kiss…" Vaati's face seemed to go even paler at the man's disgusting words. And really, he didn't look _that_ much like a girl!

"No thank you," the older man answered, his face mirroring the disgust Vaati felt. "My _boyfriend_ and I will be going now." As he began to pull the mage away, the man leaned out, as if hoping to confirm Kafei was lying and he didn't just hit on a man. As his squinty eyes peered out though, his lips suddenly twisted into a sneer.

"Wait a minute ya poofs! I know you… You're that magic bastard that let all those monsters loose and turned the princess to stone! You're Vaati! Those damn monsters of yours killed my son!" Kafei groaned as the man started shouting; there went their tour. At least they had a quick and easy way out.

"All right, it's time to teleport us out before the entire festival is after us." He waited…but nothing happened. Looking at Vaati's face, it wasn't hard to tell he wasn't about to either. Of all the times to freeze… "Okay, new plan…we run!"

Kafei dragged Vaati along, the latter's legs moving automatically. Maybe this hadn't been such a great idea after all… Of course they had to stop in front of one of the people who'd actually be able to recognize him… Kafei didn't know his way around, and the crowd was thick. He didn't stop to see if they were being followed; for all he knew, no one believed that man and they were completely safe, but he wasn't about to risk it. …Which way led back out though?

"Hey mister! Come this way!" The voice was familiar, just as Anju's had been. Though he couldn't place it, he really had nothing to lose. Still pulling Vaati along, he dashed over a small bridge, though he didn't see the source of the voice. "Quick, come inside!" There is was, coming from a cracked open door of a small house. Somehow, he knew it wasn't a trap, and in they went. He practically slammed the door once they were inside, taking a moment to catch his breath before looking at his saviors…

"Link? Romani?" …Only to find three children and a women, two of which looked _very_ familiar.

"My name's Link," the boy spoke up before pointing to the redheaded Romani lookalike, who in turn looked as Cremia did when they were children, "but her name is Malon." More doppelgangers… Yes, they'd _definitely_ have to ask Ezlo about that.

"And I'm Zelda!" a pretty young blonde girl piped in. She turned away from Kafei and smiled up at the mage instead. "Hi Vaati!"

"Link… Zelda…" While Kafei was glad Vaati had come to his senses again, he wasn't so sure this meeting was opportune. Zelda was the girl he'd almost killed trying to extract the Light Force from, right? The one turned to stone? And Link had defeated him. …But why where they both smiling at him like old friends then?

"Hey Vaati, you're human again and you grew up! That's cool! Did Ezlo help you? He's not being anyone else's hat these days is he? What—?" Link—yes, he was definitely just like the boy Kafei had met when the moon was falling—stopped his barrage of questions by the last person who hadn't been introduced. The beautiful blue-haired woman placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled warmly at him, causing the boy to flush and promptly shut up.

"Link, how about we all sit down first, then you can catch up, all right?" The boy nodded, and the woman turned her smile to the two men. "Hello, I am Nayru, the oracle of the goddess I bear the name of. This is my home, so please, feel free to sit down so we may speak. I assure you that no harm will come of you while here. Now, may I get you some tea before we begin our chat?"

* * *

It took a while, but Vaati managed to explain all the key points of what had happened since he and Ezlo last saw Link and Zelda. True, they weren't old, but they were both mature and understood what was going on, and the thought of alternate dimensions fascinated all of them. In return, they learned that Malon was a friend of theirs that lived on Lon Lon Ranch right outside of Hyrule Town—Kafei was yet again amazed by that—and that thanks to Zelda's influence, the town had been convinced that Vaati had been sealed away in the Four Sword in a monstrous shape rather than his true fate.

"Why?" Vaati had asked.

"Because I had a feeling you would come back to this town some day," she'd replied cheerfully. Just by looking at his face, Kafei had known that the mage was touched that she could be so forgiving after all that had happened.

All that being said, it was evident that the man had not been believed after all. Still, Vaati didn't want to return to the festival, and Kafei found it more interesting to meet people Vaati knew than see peddlers trying to push cheap goods for goddesses he didn't worship. Besides, he was curious…

"Have any of you seen anyone who looks like me around? It's seems strange that my two best friends have doubles here but I apparently don't…" The other four shook their heads, which just made Kafei all the more mystified.

"Maybe it's good that there isn't another you, or Vaati might've fallen in love with him instead, and you'd have to fight over him." Zelda's observation made herself and Malon giggle. It _was_ a good point though.

Among Vaati's recap had been what had gone on between Kafei and himself. None of them had any problems with it; in fact, Zelda and Link were very pleased that the sad little Picori they'd seen leaving with Ezlo was finally happy. Link, however, _had_ been amazed that someone married to Anju wouldn't be happy with it. When Malon had huffed about Link having a crush on so many women, Kafei was left wondering if the Link he'd known was that hormonal too…

"Oh my," Nayru spoke up as the clock in her home began to chime. "Princess, it's getting late. You father wanted you home before it got dark. Link, Malon, I believe your families won't want you out past dark either." The young teenagers groaned, not wanting to leave, especially not Link and Zelda, who realized that it could be a very long time before they got to see Vaati again. But the oracle was right; it was time for them to make their leave.

"We should be going soon too," Vaati told them, which made them feel a little better at least. "Ezlo will be waiting for us, and we'll be small for the trip back to the village. Link, I'm sure you remember what a hassle those lily pads are in the dark." The blond boy nodded; he still had nightmares about drowning in puddles…

Goodbyes were said, with Vaati promising he'd visit them again and tell them all about any more doubles he met of them. The children scampered off first, leaving the men and the oracle alone. They thanked her for letting them stay, to which she smiled and replied that it was her pleasure.

"I may only be the oracle of time, but I can still sense that the two of you have a pure intent to learn the workings of our universes. I do wish you the best of luck."

Pure intent… Kafei wondered what she meant by that as Vaati led them back out of town and to the forest. True, he wanted to learn about him mother and Vaati had wanted to see Ezlo, but was that really considered _pure_?

He supposed it didn't matter. If the oracle of a goddess gave them her blessing, it was best to just accept it.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set as they reached the village, and luckily no one was out and about as they made their way back to Ezlo's home. They still didn't linger though, as Kafei knew that with all that Vaati had dealt with, he didn't need the Picori reminding him of his past mistakes too. He thanked any listening deities that his lover wasn't dwelling over the man's words too much.

It wasn't long before they had reached their destination, entering Ezlo's home without a word. They didn't need to say anything—the old Picori was standing near the entrance, as if waiting for their return. In retrospect, they figured he probably had been.

"Ah, you're both safe, that's good. How was your trip?" Kafei stayed silent, letting Vaati decided whether he wanted Ezlo to know exactly what had gone on. The younger Picori managed a shaky smile despite the memory.

"Someone did recognize me…but Kafei made sure we were safe. We met up with Link and Zelda too and they acted like we were good friends… It was a good day I'd say." Kafei smiled at his lover's words. Every step towards forgiving himself was a good sign. It seemed Ezlo agreed, because he grinned widely.

"Is that so…? Well then, I think it's high time I told the two of you what you came here to find out then."

Two pairs of red eyes blinked, then widened with shock, perfectly in sync.

"What? Really?"

"You're not going to make us go through some big test or anything?"

"Of course not!" Ezlo couldn't help but chuckle at the looks on their faces. Ah, to be young… "No, I think that based on all I've seen, you're ready to hear this. Some of it may be shocking or difficult to take in, but please bear with me. You see, it all began a short time before Vaati was born…"

And the story began.


	17. Chapter 16

Kismet—Chapter Sixteen

by taitofan

Rated R for sexual content and some language

Disclaimer: I don't own Majora's Mask, Minish Cap, or anything else Legend of Zelda related. Trust me; I'm sure that many people are happy about that.

Author's notes: WELP I'M TERRIBLE. But anyway! If I didn't finally give you guys some answers after all this time, I would be the worst. So I'll give them! Of course, _Hyrule Historia_ basically makes this fic make no sense without heavy time travel shenanigans added in. I'll try to fix what gaps I can, but this fic is just too long and old to make everything canonically accurate to our new timeline knowledge. But hey, the only timeline Kafei is in is also the one Vaati gets his second resurrection in, so I enjoyed that tidbit!

If you have any CC, please share and I'll listen. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 10-28-13

* * *

The first time Dotour had met Kakoli, he'd known that she was someone he could love forever. It turned out that he was right; he loved his wife more than words could express, and the child she was pregnant with was a testament to that fact. He hadn't, however, ever thought that there was so much wonder and excitement that would come along with her. The magical powers, the mystical artifacts, the dimensional travel—it was like nothing he'd ever even dreamed of, yet there he was, probably no larger than a thimble, walking past a pebble that currently looked big enough to crush him to death.

No, he hadn't imagined any of this possible, but he couldn't say that he minded it. It was utterly fascinating, and as long as Kakoli was with him, he knew that he was safe.

"Here we are!" she exclaimed cheerfully as they finally reached their destination. It seemed to be a village, no doubt where her old friend they were there to see lived. Ezlo, he believed he was called? As soon as Kakoli had learned that she was to have a baby, she'd wasted no time in making a list of all the people she needed to see and tell the good news to. He wasn't exactly sure how she knew this Picori elder, or even exactly what a Picori _was_, but he'd agreed to go with her when she'd asked. True, she wasn't very far along, but he wasn't about to let his wife go dimension-hopping in her state without him.

He followed Kakoli down a path, taking in the odd looking houses and strange little creatures along the way. The Picori, he assumed. But as they reached one house, an old man dressed in green robes came rushing out.

"Ezlo!" The old man looked up at the sound of Kakoli's voice, a look of relief on his face.

"Kakoli, my dear, what perfect timing. I'm afraid I can't explain in much detail, but friends of mine are about to have their first child, but the midwife cannot make it. I told them I'd be there, but I'm late thanks to trying to find a replacement that doesn't exist. Can you get me to Hyrule Town quickly?" The Sheikah woman nodded, not bothering to ask questions. If Ezlo was going to be the one to deliver the baby, they'd have to move fast!

A bit of Sheikah magic later, the three were no longer in the woods, but rather in a bustling town. Ezlo looked around before pointing to what looked like an eatery of some sort.

"There, Ori and Kiorra live above that restaurant. We must hurry!"

As they rushed in, quick introduction were finally made. That was all there was time for; as soon as they reached the dwelling of the Picori couple, they could all tell that things were not going well. Not at all.

"E-Ezlo… Thank the goddesses… It—it hurts!" The Picori woman was petite, even more so than was usual for the race. Her black hair lay limp on her shoulders from perspiration, and her bright green eyes—rare for Picori but not unheard of—were full of pain. Her husband stood next to her, seemingly at a loss as to how he could ease her suffering. While his wife was pale, he was rather tanned, with dark auburn hair and blue eyes that were far more common in town Picori such as themselves.

"It's going to be alright Kiorra, now try to calm down. Do you see this woman? Her name is Kakoli. I couldn't find another midwife, but she will help me. All right?" Kiorra looked up at Kakoli and tried to smile, but the pain made it difficult.

"T-that's fine. Please, let's help my child be born."

The delivery was difficult for all involved. Kakoli learned early on that Kiorra had gone into labor three months early, though no one knew why, as she hadn't done anything wrong. Kiorra was a small woman, though she did her best to do just as Ezlo told her to. Ori stepped back to let the others help his wife, but it was obviously breaking his heart to see her in such anguish. Dotour wondered how Kakoli always seemed to know when she was needed somewhere…

"We're very close now. Keep pushing!" Kakoli could tell very easily that Kiorra was exhausted, but she pushed as hard as she could regardless. The red-eyed woman continued to urge her on, but she couldn't help but wonder what would happen next. Would the child even be alive? If it was, would it survive in the coming days, hours, or even minutes? It certainly wasn't something a pregnant woman wanted to have to think about…

She had the answer to her first question very shortly.

"Kiorra, my girl, congratulations! It's a boy!" Kakoli cleaned the child off as best she could before wrapping him in a tiny blanket and handing him over to the other woman.

"You did great," she whispered, taking the tired, yet still brilliant, smile she got as her thanks. Ori finally approached the bed to see his new son.

"Oh honey… He looks like your father, just look at that." Kiorra nodded, running a hand over a tuft of soft brown hair.

"Yes, he does… Our little Vaati."

It was quiet then…

But that was the problem. No crying baby… Something wasn't right. It was like being in the eye of the storm—while the worst seemed to be over, they all could sense that there was more to come. Kiorra held her newborn close, though her face made it obvious that she was concerned about him.

"Why… Why is his breathing so shallow? H-he'll be alright won't he?" Ezlo looked sadly down at the child, knowing that there wasn't much that could be done. He had been born far too early; the chance of survival was almost non-existent. But how could one possibly tell a mother that her child was almost certainly destined to die…? "Ezlo, please! Tell me Vaati will be alright!"

"Ezlo…?" At Ori's questioning tone, he finally shook his head.

"I'm so very sorry…"

Kakoli watched the scene with her heart in her throat. No… No, this couldn't be happening! She'd be giving birth in just over half a year, and here this kind woman was about to lose her son after all she'd been through? No, no she wouldn't let it happen!

"I can save him, but we must do this quickly." Kiorra gazed up at the other woman with tear-filled eyes, a glimmer of hope shining through.

"Y-you can? Please, please, whatever it is, do it!" Kakoli nodded, everyone moving out of her way as she neared the bed. She knew there would be consequences… Ones that would change many lives in the process. But she couldn't let a child die when she had the power to save it.

"He's not doing well because he's not strong enough to survive his premature birth, but a Sheikah infant can live through much worse than this," she explained hurriedly as she moved her hands swiftly, making signs that none of them could fully distinguish. "I don't have time to explain everything, but I'm pregnant right now. If I share my child's power, your son should be able to make it through this." Kiorra didn't even need to think about it.

"I understand. Just save him, I beg of you!"

She didn't need to be told twice. With a few more signs, her hands began to glow with a soft purple aura and her bright red eyes glazed over. Without a word she pressed a finger to Vaati's forehead.

No one, not ever Kiorra, who was right there with her, could say for certain what happened. It was over too fast and the glow was too blinding. All they knew was that when they could properly see again, Kakoli was breathing hard and Vaati was, for lack of a better term, a small bundle of purple. His wispy curls had turned a light shade of lavender, and his skin was now pigmented a shade of soft purple. His eyes were like two small rubies rather than the deep brown they had previously been.

But he was breathing normally and no longer looked mere seconds from death. Kiorra's tears finally fell from sheer relief.

"Thank you, thank you so much! I don't know how to repay you!" Kakoli smiled at the other woman, tired after the transfer of power, but extremely happy that it had worked.

"Don't mention it. I couldn't let him die after all. But… I think you should know exactly what this is going to mean for our children now…"

"It's… It's nothing dangerous is it?" Kakoli shook her head, and Kiorra decided right then that as long as he was safe, it didn't matter what the other woman said. She would forever be in her debt for giving her son life.

"Oh, no, not at all! It's just… To save him, like I said before, I had to give part of my child's power to yours. The obvious consequence is his physical appearance. Red eyes are the sign of the Sheikah. Since he has them, he should be able to tap into the power of my race when he's old enough. However, there's another, major things that will happen. This means that they will be… Bonded."

"Bonded?" she questioned, not quite knowing what that entailed. "Like soulmates?"

"Exactly," Kakoli confirmed, looking down at the baby, who quietly looked up at whatever his tiny red eyes could focus on. Vaati… Would this boy one day be her son-in-law? "The thing is, I don't actually know what gender my child will be…"

"Oh! I see…" So that was it… Well, no matter. Kiorra didn't mind, and she knew Ori wasn't a bigot either. If it came to that, well, they'd love him just as much as they did now. "So, how does this bonding work exactly?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted, never having heard of the bonding ritual, which had been used in the past to bind families together and insure arranged marriages would go through, being used on two boys before. Though, who knew, maybe she'd be having a girl. There was no point in wondering; they would be who they would be, and they'd both be loved regardless. "I think it will be best if we don't tell them though. They'll meet and we'll let them decide for themselves if they will fall in love, no matter what. I mean, it should happen regardless, but if they're uncomfortable, we shouldn't force them. It should come naturally."

"Yes, I agree… But if it saved him, I don't care what happens. I'll love my son no matter what."

The women smiled, a moment of maternal understanding between them.

"Me too."

* * *

"So… As you can see, it was destiny that the two of you were to meet, to fall in love. Kafei, you were born with Vaati in your future, though you mother had been adamant that neither of you be told until you had already fallen in love on your own. She and Kiorra didn't want you to feel as if you were forced into anything. But seeing as everything has happened just as she predicted, you deserve to know what had happened. There will no doubt be more obstacles in your future, but I can assure you that you are both strong enough to get through them. Your parents believed it, and so do I."

Neither man was able to say anything for a few minutes, and Ezlo didn't rush them. It was, after all, not something one learned every day; that your lover truly was your soulmate in every sense of the word. Vaati also had the newfound knowledge that he was also half-Sheikah just as his lover—a power that they shared and had saved his life. Without Kafei, he wouldn't even be _alive_…

"So… That was why you told me I had to handle my problems on my own back when I first told you I was gay, isn't it? Because you knew that I was long before I told you and that Kafei was out there somewhere…"

"Yes," Ezlo confirmed, nodded his head sagely. "Forgive me, but not only had your parents wanted it that way at your birth, but after Dotour and Kakoli came looking for a cure, she again had me promise that if anything should happen to her, the two of us would make sure not to say a word until we were sure. I had a feeling Vaati, that after you made your wishing hat, that it would lead you to Kafei somehow. I'm very glad to see that I was right. Kakoli and Kiorra would be so proud of you both…"

Kafei was perhaps even more shocked by this new knowledge than his lover. His mother had saved Vaati… A mother than he hadn't even known existed until recently. And his father! His father knew about all of this, from Vaati to the binding, and he too had never broken his mother's request. He wanted to be angry; if Dotour had just said _something_, even just hinted at it, he wouldn't have married Anju and broken her heart. But he just couldn't be angry. He knew it would have been worse to wonder for the rest of his life if he truly loved Vaati or if it was all the power of suggestion.

He didn't need to wonder that now; he loved Vaati more than he could express. He didn't care why or how. All that mattered was that the mischievous sorcerer he'd saved from death—twice now it seemed—was with him.

But still, he had to wonder why in the world his father had ever questioned if he was gay or in love with Vaati if he'd known all about it.

He looked over to Vaati and Ezlo talking, not really paying attention to the words as he was lost to his own thoughts. So he—not just his mother—was the reason Vaati had such an exotic coloring… Something that he adored so much had caused the other Picori to be weary of him though. And his attraction to men, was that because he was bound to Kafei as well, or would it have happened regardless? He felt a twinge of guilt at the thought. Yes, his mother's actions had saved Vaati's young life, and that took precedence, but the side effects seemed to have also caused him much of his pain.

But still, he knew that they'd both expressed interest in men long before meeting each other, so he supposed there was no use in wondering the "what ifs." It made him feel a little better about Anju too. And Sheik… He wondered if his intense attraction to the mysterious boy had anything to do with his Sheikah blood and red eyes subconsciously reminding him of this soulmate? Well, it was what it was. If he was happy, and Vaati was too, then he couldn't complain.

"Kafei?" Vaati's voice got Kafei's attention, and his nervous expression only heightened his awareness more. "Are you okay with this? You don't think that we…?"

"No," Kafei assured, walking over and taking the Picori into his arms. "The details don't matter. We love each other, and that's all we need to care about, alright?" Vaati nodded, feeling safer than he had in a long time. Maybe he was in a village, a world, that hated him, but he also had a lover, a mentor, and friends who cared about him unconditionally. Even a woman he'd never known had deemed him important enough to live. If they cared about him, then he had no choice but to forgive himself as well. And to do that…

"Did you hear what I was talking to Ezlo about?" Kafei's sheepish smile said it all. "No, I thought not. It's just… He thinks we should go straight to the world your mother was from. He won't say why, just that it would be good for both of us."

"Yes it will," Ezlo agreed, nodding. "There are still Sheikah in the worlds, but they are scattered and difficult to find. However, if you go to Kakoli's homeworld, you can find a Sheikah woman named Impa at the royal palace who can help you to understand and hone your powers. There are other reasons for you to go, but I'm afraid that you must find those out yourself."

Kafei could see why Vaati got irritated with Ezlo's inability to say anything straight out, but there was nothing he could do but agree to the plan. He didn't want to head back to Clock Town just to accidently burn everything down because he got angry. And it wasn't a secret that it didn't take much to raise his ire… Surely Anju would be okay a while longer. It wasn't like they'd been in Vaati's world long after all, even with the different flow of time.

"However, I have a word of caution…" The two lovers parted at Ezlo's serious tone and gave him their full attention. "Make sure you do not deviate when you play Kakoli's panpipe to travel. If you are off to much, you may find yourselves not only traveling between worlds, but time as well. The melody you have is to take you to stable points in time. You don't want to find yourself in a different future where, say, Vaati did not repent and cause a paradox. Doppelgangers of different dimensions are one thing, but you should not find yourself face to face with a you that should not exist. Please, just be careful when you travel."

The idea that they could invoke time travel didn't even cross their minds, and they both quickly decided that they didn't want to do it anyway. It sounded even more dangerous and complicated than what they were already doing. And the thought of being in a world where he'd stayed as a giant eyeball as Zelda had lied about was not something Vaati ever wanted to see. Being in those forms had been terrible enough; he would be perfectly content if Kafei never had to see what he'd been like at that time.

"We will," Kafei assured him. Time travel and paradoxes weren't on his list of fun sounding things either. "I'm not even sure I want to visit any other worlds after my mother's homeland anyway. I suppose I'll see what happens when that time comes."

"Yes, adventure can be fulfilling," Ezlo agreed, "but sometimes it is even more so to settle down and lead a peaceful life. And who knows how much adventure this trip will bring you…?"

Both men knew that Ezlo knew something they didn't. But somehow, it didn't seem as groundbreaking as the binding, or the Sheikah heritage. They resigned themselves to being patient and instead began to make plans for when they'd leave.

Ezlo watched the duo with a small smile. He hoped that Kakoli had been right about Impa being willing to teach Kafei if she wasn't around anymore. As for Vaati… His apprentice was turning out to be just fine.

He just hoped that the obstacles they'd face in the new land they were off to wouldn't be too much for them to handle.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a different time and place, a lovely redhead fretted nervously as she went about her daily chores. That night she was headed to Clock Town, and her younger sister was opting to stay home since her crush was out dimension hopping. Cremia might have thought that Romani's enduring infatuation with the very much homosexual Vaati was funny had she not known that Anju was being just as stubborn.

Since Kafei and Vaati had left, she'd gone to Clock Town a few times just to make sure that her best friend was fairing alright and not dying of a lack of edible food. It was painfully apparent that Anju was eagerly awaiting Kafei's return, and it was _not_ in a platonic sense. Anju was still very much in love with her husband, no matter how much she supported his relationship with another man.

Cremia just couldn't understand it, and that was with her own love for a woman still pining over her gay husband! At least with her, there was hope. She didn't know if Anju liked woman—had never had the nerve to ask her. Anju knew that there was no chance for things to work out in her favor though, and she _did_ seem to realize that her love was fully unrequited. Honestly, it still pained Cremia to see how much Anju loved Kafei, if even after all that had happened, her love hadn't faded.

It really didn't make her want to jump up and confess her love to Anju, at any rate.

"Sis, are you okay?" Cremia snapped from her musings and gave her sister a smile that she hoped was cheerful. Judging by the look on Romani's face, she was quite sure that she'd failed. "I know you're about to say you are, but I know you're lying!"

Cremia laughed, though there was no humor behind it. Of course she'd be lying. But compared to everyone else, her problems hardly seemed important. Still, they were _her_ problems, and they were important to _her_.

That was when it hit her.

Her feelings were just as important as everyone else's.

She kept putting everyone before herself, and it was starting to take its toll. She was sick of hiding her feelings; she was tired of worrying and pining and just plain _not knowing_. She was going to do it. To hell with the consequences—when she saw Anju next, she was going to tell her what she felt. She knew there was no way Anju would ever stop being her friend, so there was at least that. If Anju didn't feel the same… Well, it would hurt, but she would at least know and could start to move on.

"You know…" She finally said, her smile more genuine now. "Even if I'm not all that okay right now, I think I will be very soon."

Romani gave her a confused look before shrugging and turning back to her chores. Cremia giggled at the girl's childlike response and did the same. After all, the sooner they were done at the ranch, the sooner she could see Anju and settle things once and for all.

* * *

They were soon enough back where they'd begun, in their human forms. Vaati was glad to be away from the hateful stares and whispers words, and Kafei was simply happy to no longer fear pebbles. Both were nervous about their next destination, but there was an underlying feeling of excitement that shone through as well.

This would supposedly be the world that would give them the rest of their answers, as well as understanding of their powers. How could they not be at least a little excited?

"Well… Shall we be off?" Vaati nodded at the question, trying to convince himself that the excitement outweighed the trepidation. The world Kafei's mother was from… The world where that boy had… He sighed shakily and pushed the thought from his mind. No, that boy was gone, and Kafei was his soulmate! Literally! Everything was going to be fine!

"Yes, we shouldn't put it off I suppose." If Kafei didn't believe he was ready for this, he didn't show it. He merely smiled softly at him and pulled out his panpipe. Soon there was a new portal open, identical to the one they'd been through just days before. Kafei bagged the pipe and held out his hand. Vaati didn't hesitate to take it.

Moments later, there was no evidence that anyone had been in the area except for the faint crackle of magic left in the air.


End file.
